Methods: Twelve pain dysfunction syndrome patients were recruited from TMD clinic, University Dental Hospital of Manchester. They met the entry criteria and were randomly assigned into one of two treatment groups. Group 1 received real acupuncture treatment whilst Group 2 received a “sham” acupuncture intervention. The subjects were treated using bilateral stomach 7 acupuncture points. This study design uses a newly validated sham acupuncture device, whereby the subject is unable to tell whether or not they are receiving real acupuncture. In addition, the assessor was blinded regarding the group allocation.
Results: Significant improvement was found in subjects after six treatments with real acupuncture, for seven different outcome measures (Paired T-Test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tests, P<0.05).
Conclusion: Acupuncture seems to be effective in treating pain dysfunction syndrome, particularly in the areas of muscular tenderness and increased pain distribution compared to sham treatment.