Citations

On this page you'll find some of the research on exercise for TMD.

If the jaw had been treated like any other joint in the body, comprehensive strength training for jaw joint health and rehab would already be normalized.

My point of view is not that JawXM is THE answer to the complex problem of TMD. My point is that strength training is beneficial to joint health and that it should be fully integrated into TMJ care regardless of disorder, pathology, injury, or health maintenance protocols.

I believe that the only reason it has not yet been integrated, is because there has been no equipment to do so. That is why a created JawXM.

This section has current data on the prevalence of TMD.

Temporomandibular disorders: a review of current concepts in aetiology, diagnosis and management

Published in final edited form as: Oral Surg. 2020 November ; 13(4): 321–334. doi:10.1111/ors.12473.

I have purposefully underestimated prevalence of TMD in my content to be careful not to exaggerate numbers. However, I have chosen to use the most current estimates rather than data from 2 decades ago.

The 7 million new diagnoses I cite in my intro video comes from this article.

It is based on the reporting that annually, 4% of TMD-free adults aged 18–44 years develop clinically-confirmed first-onset painful TMD.

Additional new statistics can be found here:

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/temporomandibular-disorders-in-adults

A quick internet search for the prevalence of TMD often results in 5-12% of the population. This is old data from the early 2000's. This article has new data that includes:

"... estimated that each year 4% of TMD-free adults aged 18–44 years develop clinically-confirmed first-onset painful TMD, and that annual incidence increases with age (18–25 years=2.5%; 25–34 years=3.7%; 35–44 years=4.5%).7 A total of 19% of adults per year reported an initial painful ‘TMD symptom episode’ (i.e. orofacial pain for at least 5 consecutive days per month for one or more months)."

Further:

"Prevalence of signs and symptoms of TMD

A large population-based study using the RDC/TMD estimated the prevalence of painful TMD (myalgia and/or arthralgia) is 36% in adults aged 20–49 years. TMJ ‘clicking’ was reported by 30% of adults, while only 8% were diagnosed with a disc displacement (DD). The estimated prevalence of TMD degenerative joint disease (DJD) diagnosis, also associated with TMJ noises, is 17%. Of note, TMJ DD, the presumed cause of TMJ ‘clicking’, has been argued to be a normal anatomical variant of TMJ disc position, given its high prevalence in asymptomatic populations. A meta-analysis of non-patient studies estimated the need for TMD treatment in adults is 16%, with higher values for studies of older individuals (≥46 years) and those where need was clinically assessed (vs. perceived by participants)."

The following PDF's are scholarly articles concerning exercise for TMD. Although the results of most of the research are positive or show promise, the results are mixed. My hypothesis is that comprehensive equipment will make it possible to design studies that are measurable, standardizable, and reproducible and that include exercise protocols that are measurable and standardizable in intensity, frequency and duration. Perhaps this will address the lack of robust methodology as stated in some reviews.

The lack of comprehensive strength training exercise has had a detrimental effect on research as evidenced by this quote from Margaret L McNeely, Susan Armijo Olivo, David J Magee:

“Most of the studies included in this review were of very poor methodological quality; therefore, the findings should be interpreted with caution.”