Efficacy of Physical Therapy on Maximal Mouth Opening in Patients Affected by Disc Displacement and Degenerative Temporomandibular Joint Diseases: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND

Among temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), the main arthrogenic entities are disc-condylar complex disorders and degenerative diseases.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physiotherapy in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science until January 2026 to search for studies including patients with a diagnosis of intracapsular TMD as participants; physical therapy or physical therapy combined to other conservative approaches as intervention; placebo, sham treatments, oral pharmacological anti-inflammatory drugs, behavioral therapy, or other conservative approaches as comparison; maximal mouth opening (MMO) as outcome.

RESULTS

Out of 1578 identified records, 10 studies were included. A total of 354 subjects were analyzed, of which 213 performed a rehabilitation technique and 141 were included in the control group. Although the randomized trials reported improvement in MMO, pain, and function, a major limitation was the lack of standardized physiotherapy protocols across trials.

CONCLUSION

Findings from the present systematic review showed that physiotherapy (active and passive jaw exercises, associated with relaxation techniques) might improve MMO. Further studies with uniform protocols and high-quality randomized trials are needed to validate the efficacy of multimodal treatments in arthrogenic TMD subtypes.