Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology
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J Electromyogr Kinesiol · Jun 2014
Controlled Clinical TrialSurface raw electromyography has a moderate discriminatory capacity for differentiating between healthy individuals and those with TMD: a diagnostic study.
The use of surface electromyography (sEMG) to identify subjects with chronic temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is controversial. The main objective of this study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of EMG to differentiate between healthy subjects and those with TMD. This study evaluated 53 individuals with TMD who were referred to the university service and who fulfilled the eligibility criteria during the period of the study. ⋯ When rLT and rACTIVITY (differences divided by sums of temporalis versus masseter muscles) were considered as a linear combination, the AUC increased to 0.742 (95% CI; 0.783-0.934). In conclusion, the raw sEMG evaluation of rest provided moderate sensitivity and specificity to discriminate between healthy individuals and those with TMD. The use of the indexes (mainly assessing the dominance of temporalis over masseter muscles during rest) is strongly recommended to increase the discriminatory capacity of raw sEMG evaluation.