The Effects of Kinesio Taping and Exercise Interventions in Individuals With Bruxism

Medipol Health Group

Status: Completed

Conditions: Bruxism; Kinesiology Taping; Exercise

Treatments: Other: Kinesiology Taping and Exercise; Other: Convansionel Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06611358

E-10840098-772.02-4024

Details and patient eligibility

About

Bruxism is the unconscious act of grinding or clenching the teeth. It leads to hyperactivity of the masticatory muscles due to non-functional mandibular movements, which can result in pain symptoms and is, therefore, a significant factor contributing to changes in the temporomandibular joint. While the beneficial effects of exercise and kinesio taping on temporomandibular dysfunction and bruxism have been validated by various studies in the literature, research investigating their impact on cervical awareness remains quite limited. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of kinesio taping in addition to exercise on pain, mandibular range of motion, sleep quality, depression levels, and cervical awareness in individuals with bruxism.

Full description

Bruxism is a parafunctional or unconscious act of grinding or clenching the teeth. The factors contributing to bruxism are thought to include joint and soft tissue injuries, genetic factors, fatigue, and stress. There is a consensus that the etiology of bruxism is multifactorial and originates from central mechanisms. Bruxism is a common parafunctional activity in the general population, occurring both during sleep and while awake. Daytime bruxism, which is more prevalent in women, affects approximately 20% of the adult population, while sleep bruxism affects around 10%. Overall, the prevalence of bruxism decreases with age, regardless of gender.

The treatment of bruxism aims to raise awareness of oral parafunctional behaviors, alleviate pain, establish a resting position for the temporomandibular joint, improve posture in the head and neck regions, restore muscle strength between affected muscles, and achieve pain-free range of motion. While there is no definitive treatment method, a variety of invasive (acupuncture, injections, surgery, etc.) and non-invasive (exercise, electrical stimulation, manual trigger point stimulation, taping, etc.) approaches are employed. In recent years, reversible non-invasive approaches have gained importance in treatment.

Taping and bandaging have long been part of physiotherapy practices as treatment methods. Kinesio® Tape is a latex-free, thin, cotton-based tape. Developed in Japan 25 years ago, Kinesio® Tape has become widely used in recent years, not only in the United States, Europe, and many other parts of the world but also in our country. The structure, thickness, and weight of the tape are similar to the physical properties of the skin, with a high degree of longitudinal elasticity. The tension levels of the tapes vary depending on the treatment purpose. The primary goal of the Kinesio taping method is to support healing by allowing pain-free movement. In the Kinesio taping method, the tape is applied around or over the muscles as needed to prevent muscle overactivity.

Psychological counseling and exercise are widely used techniques in the treatment of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) and have been shown to have positive outcomes in the literature. In a randomized controlled trial by Nimela et al., the efficacy of counseling and masticatory muscle exercises alone was found to be similar to that of stabilization splints in both pain relief and increasing active maximal mouth opening. In a study by Coşkun et al., the addition of kinesio taping to counseling and exercises resulted in significantly greater benefits in both the short and long term. While the beneficial effects of exercise and kinesio taping on TMD and bruxism have been confirmed in various studies, research investigating their impact on cervical awareness is quite limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of kinesio taping, in addition to exercise, on pain, temporomandibular joint range of motion, sleep quality, depression levels, and cervical awareness in individuals with bruxism.

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 50 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Presence of teeth clenching complaints
• Being between the ages of 20 and 50
• No history of major trauma to the Temporamandibular region
• No history of surgical operations on the temporomandibular joint

Exclusion criteria

• Individuals with conditions that can cause facial pain, such as sinusitis or trigeminal neuralgia
• Individuals with temporomandibular joint involvement secondary to inflammatory diseases
• Individuals with degenerative problems that restrict neck movements
• Individuals who have received treatment for bruxism in the last 6 months

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Kinesiology Taping Group

Experimental group

Description:

Individuals meeting the inclusion criteria will have kinesio tape applied to the temporomandibular joint by a physiotherapist every three days for a duration of two weeks. In addition to the kinesio taping, participants will perform an at-home exercise program prescribed three days a week. This program will include isometric neck exercises (cervical flexion, extension, right and left lateral flexion, right and left rotation, and chin tuck exercises) and temporomandibular joint range of motion exercises (protrusion, retrusion, right and left lateral movement, and mouth opening-closing exercises). As part of the treatment protocol, each movement will be performed in 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

Treatment:

Other: Kinesiology Taping and Exercise

Conventional Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Individuals meeting the inclusion criteria will not receive kinesio taping but will follow the same exercise protocol as the Kinesio Taping + Exercise Group. Participants will perform an exercise program prescribed three days a week, including isometric neck exercises (cervical flexion, extension, right and left lateral flexion, right and left rotation, and chin tuck exercises) and temporomandibular joint range of motion exercises (protrusion, retrusion, right and left lateral movement, and mouth opening-closing exercises). As part of the treatment protocol, each movement will be performed in 3 sets of 15 repetitions.

Treatment:

Other: Convansionel Exercise