Massage therapy and dry needling improve mouth opening and relieved pain in primary jaw closure oromandibular dystonia

Abstract

Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) is a debilitating disease, which cause the patient constant pain due to trismus and the inability to open the mouth. We presented a case to describe the use of massage therapy and dry needling in one of the patients that exhausted all the medical treatments she sought for the last 5 years. A 64 years old Malay lady who had suffered from OMD for 5 years with trismus and pain, causing her speech difficulty and had depend on liquid diet. Her initial pain score was 9/10. After she underwent massage therapy and dry needling, her condition was improved remarkably. She is now pain free and able to open her mouth, speak normally and take solid foods. This case study highlights the importance of these 2 methods to improve chronic oromandibular dystonia.