Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate tenderness in patients who were examined for tempormandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, as a part of team approach to the treatment of TMJ disorders at Tsurumi University. One hundred twenty patients were examined between June 1991 and February 1995. Sixty-seven (55.8%) of these patients (10 males, 57 females, mean age 41±18 years) had tenderness. The tenderness was assessed at 14 sites. It was on the ipsilateral side more often than on the contralateral side, and many patients had it in two sites. According to the classification of TMJ disorders in the Japanese Society for TMJ, tenderness was most frequently noted in the following sites: class I-posterior aspect of the ramus including the digastric muscle, shallow part of the masseter muscle, anterior temporal muscle, and sternocleidomastoid muscle; class II-condyle area; class III (anterior disk displacement with reduction) -posterior a spect of the ramus including the digastric muscle, shallow part of the masseter muscle, and anterior temporal muscle; class III (anterior disk displacement without reduction) -condyle area and shallow part of masseter muscle; class IV-posterior aspect of the ramus including the digastric muscle, shallow part of the masseter muscle, and anterior temporal muscle.
The results of this study indicated that although there was no clear-cut relationship between the Japanese classification of TMJ disorders and the sites of tenderness, there were specific sites of tenderness associated with the TMJ disorders.
