Non-surgical management of temporomandibular joint disorder using specially designed dry needle: A report of 3 cases

Ahn, Kang; Kang, Im Hong; Kim, Jae Hun; Park, Soo Young; Lee, Sang Chul

Case Report

General Article

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2010;5(3):207-211.
Published online July 31, 2010.

Non-surgical management of temporomandibular joint disorder using specially designed dry needle: A report of 3 cases

Kang Ahn, Im Hong Kang, Jae Hun Kim, Soo Young Park, Sang Chul Lee

¹Chronic Pain Management Center, Cha Biomedical Center, Kangnam Cha Hospital, College of Medicine CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. sangclee@snu.ac.kr

Abstract

Pains derived from the temporomandibular joint are not treated easily. Recently, an arthroscopic surgical management has been reported, but its efficacy has not been proven yet. In this case report, we introduce an effective non-surgical treatment technique for the temporomandibular joint using a specially designed dry needle under ultrasonography guidance. Since the patient has pain related to mouth movement, accompanying decreased mouth opening, clicking sound or crepitus on physical examination, this approach will be helpful for pain relief and for functional recovery of the temporomandibular joint.

Key Words: Dry needling, Temporomandibular joint, Ultrasonography