The application of extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders in a preliminary, small sample study

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of low‐intensity, high‐frequency shock waves in the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders. Methods Twenty‐six patients with temporomandibular joint disorder admitted to the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from August 2022 to December 2022 were selected as study subjects and randomly divided into two groups, A and B, with 13 patients each. In Group A, there were 5 males and 8 females with an average age of 38.85 ± 11.03 years. In Group B, there were 4 males and 9 females with an average age of 39.15 ± 11.16 years. Group A was the control group, which received routine treatment (manual massage + transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation + ultrashort wave therapy) plus sham shock wave therapy; Group B was the experimental group, which received routine treatment (manual massage + transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation + ultrashort wave therapy) plus shock wave therapy. The routine treatment was administered once/day, five times per week for a total of 2 weeks of treatment. In addition, shock wave therapy was administered once every 5 days, and the treatment was administered three times. The treatment period was 2 weeks, and the two groups were compared before treatment, at the end of the treatment period, and 4 weeks after treatment. The pain level of the two groups was assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after treatment, and the temporomandibular opening index (TOI) before and after treatment was compared between the two groups. VAS and TOI scores were evaluated using the Mann–Whitney U ‐test, the Kruskal–Wallis H ‐test and two‐way ANOVA. Results There was no significant difference in the VAS score and temporomandibular opening index between the two groups before treatment ( p = .829 and .75, respectively). After 2 weeks of treatment, the VAS score and temporomandibular joint opening index of both groups were significantly improved compared to those before therapy. In addition, the VAS score and temporomandibular joint opening index in the experimental group were significantly better than those in the control group ( p < .001 and <.001, respectively). There was a small increase in scores 4 weeks after the treatment compared to just after the treatment period, but the difference was not significant. Conclusion This is a preliminary small sample study that demonstrates the positive effect of using low‐intensity, high‐frequency shock waves on the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders and is worthy of clinical promotion.