Temporomandibular dysfunction: energy patterns for acupuncture treatment

Abstract

Background: TMD affects one of the most complex joints in human beings, which is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and whose etiology is multifactorial, as a therapeutic approach, acupuncture stands out for not being invasive and presenting effective results. The aim of the study is to present the prevalence of syndromes in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) as well as the effectiveness of the proposed treatments. This is a non-randomized, longitudinal follow-up clinical study. Methods: Participants are patients with TMD without distinction of muscle and/or joint origin, whose data were collected from 2008 to 2018 during consultations at the Acupuncture Clinic of FOP/UNICAMP, and who were treated with acupuncture according to the syndrome presented, within the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine. This study included all those who required exclusive acupuncture treatment and whose care protocol for the diagnosed syndrome was used throughout the treatment. Individuals who were undergoing treatments in conjunction with another therapy and/or who did not maintain the treatment for at least 3 sessions were excluded. The dependent variable was the assessment of pain using the VAS scale, which ranged from 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain), with initial assessment (VASi) and at the end (VASf) of the treatment. Descriptive analysis in relative and absolute terms and t-student test with 95% significance were used. Results: The most prevalent syndrome was emotional imbalance, that is, altered Shen with 36% of occurrence (n=18), followed by Spleen Yang deficiency syndrome and ascending Yang of the Liver, equally with 20% of occurrence (n=10 in each group). There was a 74% reduction in VAS in the group as a whole, with the initial mean VAS being 5.36 with sd =3.37 and the final VAS being 1.42 with sd =2.05, with a statistically significant decrease in pain P<0.001. Conclusions: Shen alteration was the most prevalent syndrome and acupuncture therapy proved to be effective, with significant reduction percentages for all syndromic diagnoses presented and thus can be considered as one of the therapies for the management of TMD.