Study of the Effectiveness of Treating Muscle Pain of Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Using Local Intramuscular Administration of Betamethasone

Relevance. The significant prevalence of temporomandibular joint disorders, which often leads to deterioration in patients’ quality of life, necessitates the introduction of treatment methods that primarily level clinical symptoms. One of the most promising methods of treating temporomandibular joint dysfunction muscle pain is an intramuscular injection of betamethasone into the masticatory muscles at the sites of most significant discomfort. Aim: determine the efficacy of pain reduction in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders using local intramuscular betamethasone injection. Material and methods. The study involved 26 patients, randomly divided equally into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received intramuscular injections in the most painful points with Diprospan + lidocaine 2%, while the control group received injections with lidocaine 2%. The doctor identified the injection sites during the patient’s jaw clenching as the area of maximum muscle contraction, where the pain was most pronounced. Results. The VAS score in the experimental group decreased by 68.92%, and in the control group, by 29.72%, compared to the pre-treatment score. The maximum mouth opening before the onset of pain in the experimental group increased by 13.91%, and in the control group, 6.86%, compared to the data before treatment. Conclusions. Intramuscular injection of betamethasone reduces pain and improves maximum comfortable mouth opening in patients with temporomandibular joint disorders. However, further studies of this treatment method are needed to develop a clear treatment tactic using this method. Keywords: pain, temporomandibular joint, betamethasone, corticosteroids, dysfunction, masticatory muscles.