Serritella Emanuela, Galluccio Gabriella, Impellizzeri Alessandra, Di Giacomo Paola, Di Paolo Carlo
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Nov 30;2021:1286570. doi: 10.1155/2021/1286570. eCollection 2021.
This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three acupuncture methods for temporomandibular disorders- (TMDs-) related pain.
Different locations of pain, according to DC/TMD clinical assessment, were considered: temporomandibular joint (TMJ), masticatory muscles, head, and neck. Sixty patients were assigned randomly to one of three treatment groups (20 patients in each): group BA received body acupuncture, group EA received electroacupuncture, and group CA received acupuncture + cupping. The groups were compared in terms of pain (verbal numeric scale), pain-related disability (Brief Inventory Pain, BPI), and impression of the treatment's effectiveness (Patients' Global Impression of Improvement Scale, PGI-I). These were recorded before sessions of acupuncture treatment (T0), after 8 sessions of acupuncture treatment (T1), and after 4 weeks of follow-up after treatment (T2). The between-group and within-group differences in the data were analyzed statistically. The baseline characteristics were similar in all groups ( > 0.05).
Significant improvements were noted in all types of pain compared to baseline values in all groups (all < 0.05). No significant differences were noted in the improvement of TMDs-related pain according to the different acupuncture techniques (all > 0.05). All acupuncture methods used resulted to be significantly effective in improving the pain-related interference in the patient's common activities and quality of life. EA resulted to be significantly more effective than BA and CA in improving the interference of pain with patients' mood (=0.015) and quality of sleep (=0.014).
BA, EA, and CA are all effective acupuncture methods in reducing pain and pain interference with common activities and quality of life in patients affected by TMD.
本研究旨在比较三种针灸方法治疗颞下颌关节紊乱症（TMDs）相关疼痛的疗效。
根据DC/TMD临床评估确定不同的疼痛部位：颞下颌关节（TMJ）、咀嚼肌、头部和颈部。60例患者被随机分为三个治疗组之一（每组20例）：BA组接受体针治疗，EA组接受电针治疗，CA组接受针刺+拔罐治疗。比较三组在疼痛（视觉模拟评分法）、疼痛相关功能障碍（简明疼痛问卷，BPI）和治疗效果印象（患者总体改善印象量表，PGI-I）方面的差异。这些指标在针刺治疗前（T0）、8次针刺治疗后（T1）以及治疗后4周随访时（T2）进行记录。对组间和组内数据差异进行统计学分析。所有组的基线特征相似（>0.05）。
与所有组的基线值相比，所有类型的疼痛均有显著改善（均<0.05）。根据不同的针灸技术，TMDs相关疼痛的改善情况无显著差异（均>0.05）。所有使用的针灸方法在改善患者日常活动和生活质量方面的疼痛相关干扰方面均显著有效。在改善疼痛对患者情绪的干扰（=0.015）和睡眠质量的干扰（=0.014）方面，电针治疗比体针和针刺+拔罐治疗显著更有效。
体针、电针和针刺+拔罐在减轻TMD患者的疼痛以及疼痛对日常活动和生活质量的干扰方面均为有效的针灸方法。
