Keywords:
Musculoskeletal system, Musculoskeletal joint, Musculoskeletal soft tissue, Ultrasound, Computer Applications-Detection, diagnosis, Pathology
Authors:
P. MORENO GRANERO, P.-R. Rafael, B. Jose, M. Maria, M. L. Peris Pérez; Valencia/ES
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2018/C-0814
Aims and objectives
Parafunctional activity of the masticatory muscles in considered a risk factor for TMD.(1) The prospective cohort study carried out in the OPPERA Project (Orofacial Pain Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assesment) has detected a significant increase in the relative risk of painful TMD associated to frequent or multiple parafunctional activities.(2)
Exercises involving skeletal muscle contraction against external resistance are effective in improving muscle mass balance by stimulating muscle protein synthesis.
The result is muscle hypertrophy after chronic resistance training.(3) Muscle hypertrophy is not only induced by high-intensity contractions.
Low-intensity training can result in increased muscle mass similar to that produced by high-intensity resistance training.(4) So,
sustained muscle contraction against resistance,
leads to an increase in muscle mass.
Whereas parafunctional activities (increased activity of the masticatory muscles) to be a possible risk factor for myofascial pain,
and assuming that chronic muscle activity against resistance causes muscle hypertrophy,
the hypothesis to be contrasted is that individuals with chronic myofascial pain of the masticatory muscles will have larger size (wider) muscles than people without this disorder.
The present study was designed to determine whether subjects with TMD manifesting as chronic MFP with participation of the masseter muscle (MM) present significantly greater width of the muscle as evidenced by ultrasound.