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Lifestyle Counseling vs. Clinical Pilates in Women With Temporomandibular Disorders (LiPi-TMD)

M

Mustafa Kemal University

Status

Invitation-only

Conditions

Behavior Therapy
Counseling
Health Counseling

Treatments

Behavioral: Life Counselling
Behavioral: Clinical Pilates

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07345351
PBE2025-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle counseling alone compared to lifestyle counseling combined with Clinical Pilates in women with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The study also aims to examine the effects of these interventions on pain, jaw function, posture, oral behaviors, psychological status, sleep quality, and quality of life.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

Does adding Clinical Pilates to lifestyle counseling reduce pain levels in women with TMD more than lifestyle counseling alone?

Does the combined intervention improve jaw function, head posture, and oral behaviors?

What are the effects of these interventions on anxiety, sleep quality, and quality of life?

Researchers will compare lifestyle counseling alone with lifestyle counseling combined with a supervised Clinical Pilates program to determine whether the addition of Clinical Pilates provides greater clinical and psychosocial benefits.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:

  • Receive lifestyle counseling only (control group), or
  • Participate in a supervised Clinical Pilates program twice weekly for 8 weeks in addition to lifestyle counseling (intervention group)

Undergo assessments at baseline (before any intervention) and after completion of the interventions.

Outcome measures will include assessments of pain, jaw function, posture, oral behaviors, psychological status, sleep quality, and quality of life.

Full description

This study is a randomized controlled experimental trial designed, which investigates the effectiveness of Clinical Pilates when added to lifestyle counseling, aims to contribute to the literature by evaluating its potential role in the treatment planning of women with TMD. Within the scope of this research, the therapeutic effects of Clinical Pilates will be examined.

The study will include agree to participate voluntarily, and meet the study criteria.

Inclusion criteria:

  • Female participants aged between 18 and 45 years
  • Diagnosed with temporomandibular disorder (according to DC/TMD diagnostic criteria)
  • Experiencing TMD-related complaints for at least the past 3 months
  • No prior experience with Pilates or lifestyle counseling
  • No contraindications to exercise
  • Diagnosed with muscle-related TMD

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of rheumatologic diseases
  • Neurological disorders
  • Pregnancy
  • History of head or neck trauma
  • Diagnosis of joint-related TMD (with or without reduction)

Participants will be randomly assigned into two groups:

  • Group 1 (Control Group): Participants will receive lifestyle counseling only.
  • Group 2 (Intervention Group): In addition to lifestyle counseling, participants will take part in a Clinical Pilates exercise program twice a week for a total duration of 8 weeks.

To evaluate the effects of the interventions, pre and post-treatment assessments will be conducted using the following outcome measures:

  • Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Graded Chronic Pain Scale Version 2.0 (GCPS v2.0) for pain assessment,
  • Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-20 (JFLS-20) and Maximum Mouth Opening (MMO) for assessing jaw function,
  • Craniovertebral Angle Measurement for evaluating head posture,
  • Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC) for assessing oral parafunctions and bruxism,
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for psychological status,
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) for quality of life,
  • Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality.

Treatment Program Lifestyle counseling will be delivered as a structured program focusing on stress management, sleep hygiene, oral habits, and nutritional behaviors. Clinical Pilates exercises will be tailored to each participant's symptoms and supervised by an experienced physiotherapist. It will be elaborated during the reporting phase of the study and written into the article.

Sample size The sample size is a critical component in the study, and its consideration is essential for the interpretation of the results.

The sample size of the study will be determined using the GPower 3.1.9 software (GPower, Universität Düsseldorf, Germany) with a statistical power of 85% and a type I error rate of 5%. As there is no existing study with an effect size that precisely matches the current research design, the effect size obtained from a pilot study will be used, and a post-hoc power analysis will be conducted to finalize the sample size.

Statistical Analysis Descriptive statistics are reported as mean and standard deviation or median and mode. Categorical variables are defined with numbers and percentages. The normality assumption is tested using the Shapiro-Wilks test and graphs (hygtogram, QQ plot, etc.). When comparing two groups, the independent groups t-test is used if the assumptions are met, and the Mann-Whitney U test is used if the assumptions are not met. Two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures is used when the assumptions are met, and Friedman's test is used when the assumptions are not met. Chi-squared tests will be used to determine whether there is a significant difference between categorical variables. Analyses will be performed using IBM SPSS v.21 and the significance level will be set at p<0.05.

Enrollment

62 estimated patients

Sex

Female

Ages

18 to 45 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • Women aged 18-45
  • Diagnosed with TMD (according to DC/TMD diagnostic criteria)
  • Experiencing TMD symptoms for the past 3 months
  • Have not previously received Pilates or lifestyle counseling
  • Without any condition preventing exercise
  • Diagnosed with muscle-related TMD

Exclusion criteria

  • Rheumatological diseases
  • Neurological disorders
  • Pregnancy
  • History of head or neck trauma
  • Diagnosed with joint-related TMD (with or without reduction)

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

62 participants in 2 patient groups

Arm 1: Life Counselling
Active Comparator group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Life Counselling
Arm 2: Life Counselling + Clinical Pilates
Experimental group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Clinical Pilates
Behavioral: Life Counselling

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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