Oriental Medicine Doctor Confirms Effectiveness of Acupuncture Treatment for Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
A research team, led by Oriental Medicine Doctor Park Eunyoung, Director of Busan Jaseng Oriental Medicine Hospital, has conducted a meta-analysis to systematically review the existing research papers on acupuncture treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders. The study aims to provide objective confirmation of the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders.
Research Conclusions
The research team identified 2,518 clinical trial papers on acupuncture treatment for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders in 11 paper databases from around the world. After reviewing the titles and full text, 22 articles were selected and included in the meta-analysis. The team compared the acupuncture treatment group with the sham treatment group, conventional treatment group such as physical therapy, drug therapy, and treatment laser, and the effects when conventional treatment and acupuncture were combined.
The results of the meta-analysis, published in the SCI(E) level international academic journal ‘Medicine (IF=1.552)’, confirmed that the acupuncture treatment group showed a higher pain relief effect compared to the conventional treatment group. Particularly, when acupuncture treatment and conventional treatment were combined, the degree of improvement was greater than when conventional treatment was administered alone.
According to Oriental Medicine Doctor Eunyoung Park, first author of the research, “This paper is significant as it analyzes the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating temporomandibular joint disorders from different angles through a meta-analysis of many research results published so far.” The findings can be used as evidence to prove that acupuncture is an effective treatment for patients.
About Temporomandibular Joint Disorder
Temporomandibular joint disorder refers to a musculoskeletal disease that causes pain or functional impairment due to abnormalities in the muscles, bones, and joints around the jaw. Symptoms include headaches, pain caused by tension in the face and neck muscles associated with the jawbone, a clicking sound in the jaw when opening the mouth, difficulty chewing food and speaking, and in severe cases, the inability to open or close the jaw on its own or facial asymmetry.
Causes of temporomandibular joint disorder include stress, lifestyle habits that cause imbalances in the jaw joints, and trauma. The number of patients is increasing, especially among women in their 20s and 30s, and temporomandibular joint disorders tend to appear more frequently during seasonal changes.
Treatment Options
Traditional treatment methods for temporomandibular joint disorders include physical therapy, drug therapy, and wearing braces. If ineffective, operations such as arthrocentesis and arthroscopy are also considered. However, surgery or long-term drug treatment can cause side effects, and wearing braces can cause discomfort in daily life.
Therefore, oriental medicine treatments receive a lot of attention, as they have a relatively low risk of side effects. Acupuncture, in particular, is an effective treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders as it relaxes stiff muscles, promotes blood circulation, and relieves pain without drugs or corrective devices.
Oriental medicine doctor Park Eunyoung (Director of Busan Jaseng Oriental Medicine Hospital) 1 Park Eunyoung is a Joint Research Institute of Jaseng Oriental Medicine Hospitalpicture> A research team led by an oriental medicine doctor (Director of Busan Oriental Medicine Hospital Jaseng) performed a meta-analysis to systematically review the existing research papers on acupuncture treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders to more objectively confirm the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for temporomandibular joint disorders, and its effectiveness, It was announced on the 29th that it had been confirmed. The results of the research were published in the SCI(E) level international academic journal ‘Medicine (IF=1.552)’.
The research team identified 2,518 clinical trial papers on acupuncture treatment for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders in 11 paper databases from around the world, including Korea, the United States, and China. After reviewing the titles and full text, 22 articles were selected and included in the meta-analysis. After that, according to the research design, the research team carried out a △comparison of the acupuncture treatment group and the sham treatment group △comparing the acupuncture treatment group with the conventional treatment group such as physical therapy, drug therapy, and treatment laser, and △ comparison of the effects when conventional treatment and acupuncture were combined.
As a result, compared to the conventional treatment group, the acupuncture treatment group showed a higher pain relief effect. Specifically, when acupuncture treatment and conventional treatment were combined, the degree of improvement was greater than when conventional treatment was administered alone. In terms of pain relief, the research team reported that the VAS of the acupuncture/conventional treatment group had an average effectiveness rating of 1.23 ahead of the conventional treatment group.
Oriental medicine doctor Eunyoung Park (first author) said, “This paper is significant as it analyzes the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating temporomandibular joint disorders from different angles through a meta-analysis of many research results published so far .” “It can be used as evidence to prove that it is an effective treatment for patients,” he said.
Meanwhile, temporomandibular joint disorder refers to a musculoskeletal disease in which pain or functional impairment occurs due to abnormalities in the muscles, bones and joints around the jaw. It is characterized by headaches and pain caused by tension in the face and neck muscles associated with the jawbone, as well as symptoms such as a clicking sound in the jaw when opening the mouth, difficulty chewing food and speaking. In severe cases, it may be impossible to open or close the jaw on its own or cause facial asymmetry.
Causes include stress, lifestyle habits that cause imbalances in the jaw joints, and trauma. The number of patients is increasing, especially among women in their 20s and 30s, and temporomandibular joint disorders tend to appear more frequently during seasonal changes. In fact, according to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients, approximately 460,000 in 2020, was more than 500,000 last year.
Physical therapy, drug therapy, and wearing braces are generally used to treat temporomandibular joint disorders. If ineffective, operations such as arthrocentesis and arthroscopy are also considered. However, surgery or long-term drug treatment can cause side effects, and wearing braces can cause discomfort in daily life.
Therefore, oriental medicine treatments with a relatively low risk of side effects receive a lot of attention from patients. In particular, acupuncture is a representative oriental medicine treatment used for temporomandibular joint disorders and is effective in relaxing stiff muscles, promoting blood circulation, and relieving pain without drugs or corrective devices.
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