Material and methods
myofascial pain, TMD pain, odontogenic, muscle contraction, inflammation, cancer, rheumatic, pain, orofacial pain, illness-
MYOFASCIAL PAIN, IMPACTED MOLARS, TMJ, INFLAMMATION, CANCER, POLAND, WEST, INFLAMMATION, CAVITY, FIBROMYALGIA, DISEASES
The study was conducted on female patients from the University Dental Clinic of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland. Patients (Polish women living in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship) between 20 and 45 years of age (median 28.1) diagnosed with myofascial pain with limited mouth opening (Ib) based on DC/TMD criteria were included in the study.Exclusion criteria included:Inflammation in the oral cavity that emerged as myospasm or preventive muscle contraction,Earlier splint therapy—could affect the value of the amplitude in the EMG examination, among other variables throughout a signal acquisition procedure.Pharmacotherapy (e.g., oral contraception, hormone replacement therapy, and antidepressants) – some hormones and their replacements are known to affect muscle tone and pain intensity;Systemic diseases (e.g., rheumatic and metabolic diseases)—they can affect muscle tone and pain intensity and range of motion TMJMental illness- they can affect muscle tone and pain intensity, both treated and untreatedLack of stability in the masticatory organ motor system—this affects muscle tone and pain intensity and range of motion TMJMasticatory organ injury—can affect muscle tone and pain intensity and range of motion TMJ, usually due to myospasm/local myalgia/preventive co-contractionPregnancy – as trimester-dependent estrogen/progesterone and relaxine interplay may affect muscle tone and pain intensity,Patients undergoing orthodontic treatment—can affect muscle tone and pain intensity and range of motion TMJ,Other types of inflammation in the oral cavity (e.g., pulp inflammation or impacted molars) – which usually yield in protective co-contraction,Fibromyalgia—can affect muscle tone, pain intensity and/ as well as range of motion in TMJ and cervical spine,Other specific contraindications for use of physical treatments in the MT, e.g. cancer therapy, some older models of artificial pacemakers, etc.All women underwent an intra-oral and extra-oral dental examinations performed by orofacial pain trained dentist. The aim was to exclude odontogenic, periodontal and articular causes of TMD pain. Women meeting the above criteria constituted the study group (G1, CONSORT flowchart of the participants’ progress through the trial phases [The control group (G2, The research project was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin (no. KB – 0012/102/13). Information on the clinical trial registration is available at 