A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Physical Therapy Interventions for Temporomandibular Disorders
Abstract
Background and purpose The purpose of this qualitative systematic review was to assess the evidence concerning the effectiveness of physical therapy interventions in the management of temporomandibular disorders. Methods A literature search of published and unpublished articles resulted in the retrieval of 36 potential articles. Results Twelve studies met all selection criteria for inclusion in the review: 4 studies addressed the use of therapeutic exercise interventions, 2 studies examined the use of acupuncture, and 6 studies examined electrophysical modalities. Two studies provided evidence in support of postural exercises to reduce pain and to improve function and oral opening. One study provided evidence for the use of manual therapy in combination with active exercises to reduce pain and to improve oral opening. One study provided evidence in support of acupuncture to reduce pain when compared with no treatment; however, in another study no significant differences in pain outcomes were found between acupuncture and sham acupuncture. Significant improvements in oral opening were found with muscular awareness relaxation therapy, biofeedback training, and low-level laser therapy treatment. Discussion and conclusion Most of the studies included in this review were of very poor methodological quality; therefore, the findings should be interpreted with caution.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Most early systematic reviews highlighted positive effects of exercises and MT to improve symptoms and function in people with TMD.
“Most of these early systematic reviews highlighted the positive effects of exercises and MT to improve symptoms and function in people with TMD.”
From Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise for Temporomandibular Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2016) · cites this paper as [23]
Two reviews were conducted 9 years previously and included few randomized controlled trials.
“However, 2 reviews 19,23 were conducted 9 years previously and included few randomized controlled trials (RCTs).”
From Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise for Temporomandibular Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2016) · cites this paper as [23]
None of these systematic reviews provided a meta-analysis of the trials.
“In addition, none of these systematic reviews provided a meta-analysis of the trials.”
From Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise for Temporomandibular Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2016) · cites this paper as [23]
The results of our systematic review are consistent with previous reviews showing positive effects when using exercises to treat myogenous and arthrogenous TMD.
“The results of our systematic review are consistent with previous reviews, 19,23 showing positive effects when using exercises to treat myogenous and arthrogenous TMD.”
From Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise for Temporomandibular Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2016) · cites this paper as [23]
Cites
The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977) · Biometrics · doi:10.2307/2529310 · Cited by 81,148 · see citing works
Assessing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials: Is blinding necessary?
Jadad, A. R., Moore, R. A., Carroll, D., Jenkinson, C., Reynolds, D. J. M., Gavaghan, D. J., & McQuay, H. J. (1996) · Controlled Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/0197-2456(95)00134-4 · Cited by 17,582 · see citing works
Systematic Reviews in Health Care: Meta‐Analysis in Context
(2001) · doi:10.1002/9780470693926 · Cited by 1,693 · see citing works
Moher, D., Jadad, A. R., Nichol, G., Penman, M., Tugwell, P., & Walsh, S. (1995) · Controlled Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/0197-2456(94)00031-w · Cited by 1,308 · see citing works
Colle, F., Rannou, F., Revel, M., Fermanian, J., & Poiraudeau, S. (2002) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1053/apmr.2002.35657 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Scales to Assess the Quality of Randomized Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review
Olivo, S. A., Macedo, L. G., Gadotti, I. C., Fuentes, J., Stanton, T., & Magee, D. J. (2008) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.2522/ptj.20070147 · Cited by 829 · see citing works
Self-citationEffectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report
Bronfort, G., Haas, M., Evans, R., Leininger, B., & Triano, J. (2010) · Chiropractic & Osteopathy · doi:10.1186/1746-1340-18-3 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Armijo-Olivo, S., Pitance, L., Singh, V., Neto, F., Thie, N., & Michelotti, A. (2016) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.2522/ptj.20140548 · Cited by 413 · see citing works
Vancampfort, D., Probst, M., Helvik Skjaerven, L., Catalán-Matamoros, D., Lundvik-Gyllensten, A., Gómez-Conesa, A., Ijntema, R., & De Hert, M. (2012) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.2522/ptj.20110218 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Cuccia, A. M., Caradonna, C., Annunziata, V., & Caradonna, D. (2010) · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies · doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.08.002 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Kalamir, A., Graham, P. L., Vitiello, A. L., Bonello, R., & Pollard, H. (2013) · Chiropractic & Manual Therapies · doi:10.1186/2045-709x-21-17 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Detoni, R., Hartz, C. S., Fusatto, E. L., Bicalho, E., Nacimento-Moraes, K. S. G., Rizzatti-Barbosa, C. M., & Lopes, F. O. T. (2022) · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies · doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2021.09.021 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- McNeely, M. L., Armijo Olivo, S., & Magee, D. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Alberta (CA)
- S Armijo Olivo, PT, MSc, is physical therapist and graduate student, 2-50 Corbett Hall, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G4
- Venue
- Physical Therapy
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006-05-01
- Volume
- 86
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 710-725
- ISSN
- 0031-9023 (ISSN-L)
- 1538-6724
- OpenAlex
- W2216574195
- Cited by
- 380
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 2.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physical Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Complementary and Manual Therapy › Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Keywords
- temporomandibular disorders, physical therapy intervention, exercise therapy, acupuncture, postural exercises, manual therapy, mouth opening, analgesia, biofeedback training, low-level laser therapy, sham acupuncture
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Biofeedback, Psychology, Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation, Exercise Therapy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Pain Measurement, Posture, Relaxation Therapy, Temporomandibular Joint, Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, Time Factors, Acupuncture Therapy, Range of Motion, Articular, Physical Therapy Modalities, Manipulation, Chiropractic, Laser Therapy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
