Overview
Orofacial pain is one of the most common dysfunctions among wind musicians, a population with a high incidence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Regarding the treatment of TMD, the efficacy of manual therapy and therapeutic exercise has been studied, but there is a lack of high quality research supporting its implementation. There is, however, an agreement on the need of combining the treatment of the temporomandibular joint and the cervical spine, due to their close biomechanical relation.
Aims of the study: To analyse the efficacy of an evidence-based manual therapy protocol alone or in combination with an exercise program on the treatment of orofacial pain during musical practice on wind musicians. Furthermore, this study aims at observing whether if said treatment is more effective in the short, medium, or long term, and which variables are the most influenced.
Description
Methods: A sample of 40 wind musicians with orofacial pain during practice with the instrument will be recruited in the different conservatories of the Community of Madrid. The sample will be divided into two different groups: a control group who will receive the manual therapy protocol, and an experimental group who will, in addition, receive an exercise program. Treatment will consist of ten session distributed along 5 weeks, of an approximated duration of 30 minutes per session. Assessments will be carried out pre- and post-intervention, and for a two- and four-months follow-up.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Metal or wood wind musicians
- Orofacial pain during the practice in the last 30 days.
- More than 20 hours by week in the practice.
- Between 18-65 years old.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Neurological diseases.
- Analgesics previous treatments.
- Any trauma or bone fractures in skull or cervical spine.
- Any surgical intervention in cervical spine, orofacial region or temporo-mandibular joint.