Muscle hardness and masticatory myofascial pain: Assessment and clinical relevance

Autor(es)

Costa, Y. M. ^{[1, 2]} ; Ariji, Y. ^[3] ; Ferreira, D. M. A. O. ^{[4, 1]} ; Bonjardim, L. R. ^{[1, 2]} ; Conti, P. C. R. ^{[4, 1]} ; Ariji, E. ^[3] ; Svensson, P. ^{[5, 6, 7]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Bauru Orofacial Pain Grp, Bauru - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Bauru Sch Dent, Dept Biol Sci, Sect Head & Face Physiol, Bauru - Brazil

^[3] Aichi Gakuin Univ, Dept Oral & Maxillofacial Radiol, Sch Dent, Nagoya, Aichi - Japan

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Bauru Sch Dent, Dept Prosthodont, Bauru - Brazil

^[5] Karolinska Inst, Dept Dent Med, Huddinge - Sweden

^[6] SCON, Aarhus - Denmark

^[7] Aarhus Univ, Dept Dent & Oral Hlth, Sect Orofacial Pain & Jaw Funct, Aarhus - Denmark

• Tipo de documento: Artigo de Revisão
• Fonte: Journal of Oral Rehabilitation; v. 45, n. 8, p. 640-646, AUG 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

The impression of increased muscle hardness in painful muscles is commonly reported in the clinical practice but may be difficult to assess. Therefore, the aim of this review was to present and discuss relevant aspects regarding the assessment of muscle hardness and its association with myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain. A non-systematic search for studies of muscle hardness assessment in patients with pain-related TMDs was carried out in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar. Mechanical devices and ultrasound imaging (strain and shear wave elastography) have been consistently used to measure masticatory muscle hardness, although an undisputable reference standard is yet to be determined. Strain elastography has identified greater masseter hardness of the symptomatic side in patients with unilateral myofascial TMD pain when compared to the contralateral side and healthy controls (HC). Likewise, shear wave elastography has shown greater masseter elasticity modulus in patients with myofascial TMD pain when compared to HC, which may be an indication of muscle hardness. Although assessment bias could partly explain these preliminary findings, future randomised controlled trials are encouraged to investigate this relationship. This qualitative review indicates that the muscle hardness of masticatory muscles is still a rather unexplored field of investigation with a good potential to improve the assessment and potentially also the management of myofascial TMD pain. Nonetheless, the current evidence in favour of increased hardness in masticatory muscles in patients with myofascial TMD pain is weak, and the pathophysiological importance and clinical usefulness of such information remain unclear. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/09913-4 - Efeito das aferências cutâneas no perfil somatossensorial mecânico da dor miofascial mastigatória
• Beneficiário: Yuri Martins Costa
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado