Abstract
We investigated the potential of electromyography (EMG) for diagnosing imbalance in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) to apply functional cerebrospinal therapy (FCST). The electromyography signals were measured in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) while a FCST specialist conducted a restricted cervical rotation test. In addition, we also observed the changes in the electromyography signals according to pre-treatment or treatment with a TMJ balancing appliance (TBA), a customized TMJ balancing appliance (CBA), or a CBA with one paper bar. The right SCMs of the two patients with right TMJ imbalance had high EMG signals in the right cervical rotation test, while the left SCMs showed low EMG signals in the left rotation. In addition, the high EMG signals in the right SCMs decreased when using the TBA or the CBA, but the EMG signals of the left SCMs showed low EMG values during the treatments. Furthermore, the EMG signals of the right SCMs rose again after artificial imbalance of the right TMJ by the CBA with one paper bar. This case report demonstrated the potential of EMG as an objective diagnostic method for FCST.
FCST의 턱관절 불균형 진단은 검사자 및 환자의 주관에 의존하여 이루어지기 때문에 객관적인 진단 방법에 대한 고찰이 필요하다. 본 증례에서는 FCST 진단 방법 중 경추회전제한 검사에 대한 객관적인 검증 방법으로 표면 근전도 측정이 가능성이 있음을 관찰하였다.