Fysioterapeuten (Mar 2017)
Can pain and function contribute in diagnosing temporomandibular disorders?
Abstract
Purpose: To examine whether persons with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) with or without anterior disc displacement without reduction (ADDWOR) report pain and function differently. Design: A quantitatively cross-sectional study. Materials: Thirty-five persons, aged 18–70 years (89% women) with 58 symptomatic joints or pain in surrounding area and reduced mouth-opening were recruited among patients from health-professionals in the region of Oslo, Norway. Methods: The participants reported pain on a visual analog scale (VAS) and function by the Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). Results: There was not a significant difference between the two groups with respect to duration of pain (p=0.624), pain on the examination day (p=0.602) or worst experienced pain (p=0.664). Persons with ADDWOR have major problems with chewing hard food and yawning (84%) compared with those without ADDWOR (78%). There was a significant difference in function (PSFS) between the two groups (p=0.005). Conclusion: The study shows that persons with TMD with ADDWOR reports function differently on PSFS than persons with TMD without ADDWOR, but the kind and degree of functional problems does not reveal whether ADDWOR is present or not. There was not a significant difference between the two groups with respect to pain reporting.
