Temporomandibular disorders: a Cochrane protocol to assess exercise

A planned review, not results

The publication is a protocol: it sets out the questions the researchers want to answer. It is neither a clinical trial reporting participant outcomes nor a completed synthesis of the available studies.

The main objective is to assess the effects of exercise on pain intensity, jaw function or associated limitations, and health-related quality of life in adults with temporomandibular disorders.

Several comparators and different types of disorders

The researchers plan to compare exercise with no treatment, a placebo or other conservative interventions without exercise. These comparisons should help distinguish the effects of exercise depending on the alternative offered.

The review also plans to examine mandibular mobility and adverse events. Finally, it will seek to determine whether effects differ depending on whether the disorders are muscular, joint-related or mixed in origin. This distinction is a research question, not an established finding.

What this publication changes for you

At this stage, this source does not support a conclusion that exercise relieves pain, improves mobility or is preferable to another approach to care. Nor does it support a conclusion that exercise is ineffective.

The abstract consulted reports no findings on effectiveness or safety and provides no exercise programme to follow. The value of this publication is therefore to clarify what the future review intends to assess, without on its own justifying a change in practice.

What we can take away

A Cochrane assessment of exercise for temporomandibular disorders is planned. We need to wait for its results to know what the evidence actually supports recommending.