The Effects of a Home Exercise Program on Pain and Perceived Dysfunction in a Woman with TMD: A Case Study

Abstract:

There are few reports analyzing the effects of exercise on patients with temporomandibular disorders. This paper presents a case study examining whether there were additional benefits from performing neuromuscular control home exercises (NMCHE) in a patient with temporomandibular disorder who was already receiving conventional treatment. A woman, 41 years of age, completed a health status questionnaire called the TMJ Scale prior to being accepted. She completed additional TMJ Scales after receiving conventional treatment and again after conventional treatment was combined with neuromuscular control home exercises. Based on the TMJ Scale’s best subscore indicator of the presence or absence of a temporomandibular disorder, the patient did not derive benefit from conventional treatment without exercise. However, she received a large benefit from the addition of NMCHE. It was concluded that exercises for patients with temporomandibular disorders may be beneficial to those who do not improve with conventional treatment alone.