Cited by 413Temporomandibular Joint DisordersMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMyofascial pain diagnosis and treatment

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 121 of the 124 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 26 of the 190 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Therapeutic Exercise for Temporomandibular Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Open access

Abstract

Background: Manual therapy (MT) and exercise have been extensively used to treat people with musculoskeletal conditions such as temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The evidence regarding their effectiveness provided by early systematic reviews is outdated. Purpose: The aim of this study was to summarize evidence from and evaluate the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of MT and therapeutic exercise interventions compared with other active interventions or standard care for treatment of TMD. Data Sources: Electronic data searches of 6 databases were performed, in addition to a manual search. Study Selection: Randomized controlled trials involving adults with TMD that compared any type of MT intervention (eg, mobilization, manipulation) or exercise therapy with a placebo intervention, controlled comparison intervention, or standard care were included. The main outcomes of this systematic review were pain, range of motion, and oral function. Forty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Data Extraction: Data were extracted in duplicate on specific study characteristics. Data Synthesis: The overall evidence for this systematic review was considered low. The trials included in this review had unclear or high risk of bias. Thus, the evidence was generally downgraded based on assessments of risk of bias. Most of the effect sizes were low to moderate, with no clear indication of superiority of exercises versus other conservative treatments for TMD. However, MT alone or in combination with exercises at the jaw or cervical level showed promising effects. Limitations: Quality of the evidence and heterogeneity of the studies were limitations of the study. Conclusions: No high-quality evidence was found, indicating that there is great uncertainty about the effectiveness of exercise and MT for treatment of TMD.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 48 randomized controlled trials found no high-quality evidence and generally low certainty about the effectiveness of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise for temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Manual therapy alone or combined with exercise showed promising effects, while exercise was not clearly superior to other conservative treatments.

Key findings

  • The overall evidence was considered low; none of the 48 included studies was rated low risk of bias, with 58.4% classified as unclear risk and 41.6% as high risk.
  • Postural training for myogenous TMD significantly increased maximum pain-free mouth opening (MD = 5.54 mm, 95% CI = 2.93, 8.15) and reduced disturbance with daily life (SMD = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.48, 1.78).
  • Manual therapy plus exercises for arthrogenous TMD significantly reduced pain (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.68) and increased active mouth opening (MD = 3.58 mm, 95% CI = 1.46, 5.70); for mixed TMD, manual therapy plus exercises improved mouth opening (MD = 6.10 mm, 95% CI = 1.11, 11.09).
  • General jaw exercises in mixed TMD were not superior to other treatments for pain (SMD = −0.06, 95% CI = −0.50, 0.38) or mouth opening (MD = −0.25 mm, 95% CI = −2.08, 1.57).

Methods

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis reported according to PRISMA and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42013005628); 6 electronic databases were searched through April 7, 2015, plus a manual search.
  • Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials of adults (>18 years) with TMD comparing any manual therapy or exercise therapy with placebo, controlled comparison intervention, or standard care; primary outcomes were pain, range of motion, and oral function, with pressure pain threshold as a secondary outcome.
  • The search yielded 3,549 articles; 48 studies were included in the final analysis. Data were extracted in duplicate, risk of bias was assessed by 2 independent reviewers using a compiled tool, GRADE was used to assess evidence quality, and meta-analyses used MD or SMD with 95% CI and random-effects models when clinical heterogeneity was present.

Limitations

  • Stated by the paper: quality of evidence and heterogeneity were limitations; a small proportion of studies in other languages could not be translated; heterogeneity existed in TMD diagnosis, study intervention, and control/comparison intervention; many studies included exercise or manual therapy as part of a general treatment program, making isolated effects difficult to evaluate; only 21 of 48 studies used a valid, reliable, and reproducible diagnostic tool for TMD.
  • Evident from the text: no study was classified as low risk of bias, which precluded sensitivity analyses by quality; only 20 studies reported appropriate randomization, 4 reported allocation concealment, 12 used blinded outcome assessment, and 16 used intention-to-treat analysis; adverse events were reported in only 10 of 48 trials.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2522/ptj.20140548

Cites

121 of 121 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

26 of 190 cited sources checked · 16 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 132 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 38
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 34
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
67 of 67
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    There is interstudy variability in the included studies.

    “based on the assumption of the presence of interstudy variability to provide a more conservative estimate of the true effect.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    There is clinical heterogeneity in the study population or intervention.

    “In the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the study population or intervention, the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model of pooling was used based on the assumption of the presence of interstudy variability to provide a more conservative estimate of the true effect.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The study populations in the included trials are representative of patients seen in clinical practice.

    “Despite this lack of standardized diagnosis, the study populations in all trials appeared to be representative of patients seen in clinical practice.”
3 of 3

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?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Risk-of-bias classification rule conflicts with reported classifications

    Minor

    The stated rule classifies a trial with an unclear overall risk-of-bias assessment as low risk. The results instead report that no study was low risk and that 58.4% were classified as unclear.

  • Intervention-description percentage does not match the study count

    Minor

    The review included 48 studies. Thirty of 48 is 62.5%, not 64.6%.

    Reported 64.6 · recomputed 62.5

  • Two upper confidence limits are reported for the same mouth-opening estimate

    Minor

    The results text gives an upper 95% confidence limit of 45.06 mm, while the GRADE table gives 45.08 mm for the same estimate.

3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 124 references

3 of the 124 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. McNeill, 1993, Epidemiology, 19
  2. Armijo, 2001, Clinic and teleradiographic alterations in patients with anterior disc displacement with reduction, Kinesiologia, 64, 82
  3. Higgins, 2006, Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Version 4.2.6
  4. Cohen, 1988, The concepts of power analysis, 1
  5. Diracoglu, 2009, Arthrocentesis vs conventional methods in the pain and functional status of the patients with temporomandibular disc displacement without reduction, Pain Practice, 9, 47
  6. Maluf, 2009, A comparison of two muscular stretching modalities on pain in women with myogenous temporomandibular disorders, Pain Pract, 9, 49
  7. O'Reilly, 1996, TMJ pain and chiropractic adjustment: a pilot study, Chiropractic J Aust, 26, 4

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 301–400 of 413

Metadata

Authors
Armijo-Olivo, S., Pitance, L., Singh, V., Neto, F., Thie, N., & Michelotti, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc (BE)
  • F. Neto, PT, FisioNeto–Terapia Manual Ortopédica and Pilates Clínico, Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal.
  • N. Thie, BSc, MSc, MMSc, DDS, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, TMD/Orofacial Pain Graduate Program, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • Federico II University Hospital (IT)
Corresponding author
Armijo-Olivo, Susan
Venue
Physical Therapy
Published
2016-01-01
Volume
96
Issue
1
Pages
9-25
ISSN
  • 0031-9023 (ISSN-L)
  • 1538-6724
OpenAlex
W2180651192
Cited by
413
References
124
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 63 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 3
FWCI
5.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physical Therapy (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Libraries (submittedVersion)
Funders
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Oral Surgery › Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatment
Keywords
temporomandibular disorders, manual therapy, exercise therapy, manipulation, pain, range of motion, oral function, conservative treatment, risk of bias
MeSH terms
Exercise Therapy, Humans, Pain Measurement, Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, Range of Motion, Articular, Musculoskeletal Manipulations

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