Electromyographic activity in patients with temporomandibular disorders- a comprehensive literature review

Aim of the study The aim of this literature review was to assess the difference in muscle activity recorded on electromyography in patients with TMDs before and after receiving different types of treatments. Materials and method. The study is the literature review, an electronic search was initiated using PubMed, to identify the relevant literature. The search string comprised a combination of keywords (Medical Subject Headings [MeSH]) and free-text terms. The inclusion criteria were represented by clinical trial and randomized controlled trial, publications available in English and full text publications. Results. The final electronic search provided 23 articles. After removing the duplicates, 20 articles were selected for eligibility. According to the inclusion criteria, 16 articles were selected for this review. Conclusions. Short term therapeutic effect of the low-level laser therapy improves the pain and sEMG findings in TMD patients, better than soft occlusive splints. Sensorimotor training has a positive effect on pain for patients with myofascial TMD pain and a reduction in muscular activity on sEMG. Splint assisted by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, TENS, had better results than splint alone in EMG recordings.