Efeitos das terapias para disfunção temporomandibular sobre a postura craniocervical

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether the occlusal plaque, physiotherapy and counseling therapies used in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) alter the craniocervical posture and the pain picture. This is a controlled, randomized, blinded study that included individuals previously diagnosed with TMD through the RDC / TMD (Research criteria criteria for temporomandibular disorders). The patients were randomly selected from four treatment groups: occlusal (OP, n = 17), physiotherapy (MT, n = 19), counseling (C, n = 15) and counseling, totaling 65 individuals. For the postural analysis, a teleradiography was performed at the baseline and 1 month after the application of the therapy, in order to observe the occipito-atlas distance (DOA), the craniocervical relationship (ACR) and the positioning of the hyoid bone. Traits were performed on the images using CorelDraw X6 software (2012 Corel Corporation, Canada). To analyze the pain variable, the visual analogue scale was applied before and 1 month after the therapies. The data obtained were submitted to several paired T tests (α = 5%) and for the pain variable the SPANOVA test was applied. With the exception of the PAC group in the ACR variable (p = 0.003), the results showed that there was no statistically significant difference for the analyzed variables regarding the different therapies over time. However, it can be observed that all the treatment groups allowed a reduction of the patients' pain picture (p = 0.013) over time. It’s concluded that the therapies applied have little influence on craniocervical posture, but are effective for the relief of painful symptoms.