ISOKINETIC EXERCISE MANAGEMENT OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR-JOINT CLICKING INYOUNG-ADULTS

Temporomandibular joint clicking is frequently a sign of craniomandibu lar disorders, and the etiologic predisposing, initiating, and perpetu ating factors must be considered in its management. The present study assesses the usefulness of isokinetic exercises in the treatment of te mporomandibular joint clicking. At the end of a 6-month test period, 1 8 of 22 subjects (approximately 82%) with clicks no longer had clickin g, but four subjects (approximately 18%) with bilateral reciprocal cli cking did not lose their clicks. A number of proposals have been sugge sted in the past as an explanation of the cause of temporomandibular j oint clicking, but the present study has shown that clicking in young adults is predominantly neuromuscular in origin and may be a reversibl e condition that can be treated successfully with a conservative exerc ise regimen.