Peloid Therapy in Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction

May 2, 2026 updated by: Uşak University

The Effect of Peloid Therapy on Pain and Functional Outcomes in Patients With Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction

This prospective, single-group clinical study will evaluate whether local peloid therapy improves pain and jaw function in adults with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Participants will receive peloid therapy applied to the temporomandibular joint region and masticatory muscles for 20 minutes per session, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks. Pain and functional outcomes will be measured at baseline and at the end of treatment using validated clinical scales, including the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8, visual analog scale pain scores, Fonseca index, maximum mouth opening, and secondary otalgia assessment.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is associated with pain, impaired chewing, restricted jaw function, and, in some patients, referred otalgia. Conservative treatment options are commonly used as first-line management, but the clinical evidence for some physical therapy modalities remains limited.

Peloid therapy is a local thermotherapeutic intervention used in balneotherapy and physical medicine. It may provide analgesic and muscle-relaxing effects through superficial heat and local tissue responses. However, prospective data evaluating its clinical effect in temporomandibular joint dysfunction are limited.

This study is designed to assess changes in jaw-related functional limitation and pain after a standardized 2-week course of local peloid therapy in adults diagnosed with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Functional status, pain intensity, mouth opening, symptom severity, and secondary otalgia will be assessed before and after treatment using standardized clinical measures.

The study may provide additional evidence on the role of peloid therapy as a conservative supportive treatment option for temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Faruk Kadri Bakkal, MD, Asistant Professor
  • Phone Number: 4238 +90 276 224 00 00
  • Email: fkbakkal@gmail.com

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Merkez
      • Uşak, Merkez, Turkey (Türkiye), 64420
        • Recruiting
        • Uşak University Faculty of Medicine
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Age between 18 and 65 years Diagnosis of temporomandibular joint dysfunction based on DC/TMD criteria Presence of TMJ-related pain for at least 4 weeks Baseline pain intensity ≥3 on a 0-10 visual analog scale Ability to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

History of temporomandibular joint trauma, tumor, active infection, or acute inflammation Previous temporomandibular joint surgery Presence of systemic inflammatory rheumatologic disease Pregnancy Open wound, active dermatitis, or skin condition preventing peloid application at the treatment site Injection therapy (e.g., botulinum toxin) or regular physical therapy for TMJ within the past 3 months Any clinical or behavioral condition that may interfere with study compliance

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Peloid Therapy
Other: Local Peloid Therapy
Participants will receive local peloid therapy applied externally over the temporomandibular joint region and adjacent masticatory muscles. The treatment will be delivered as 10 sessions over 2 weeks, with 5 sessions per week. Each session will last 20 minutes. Peloid therapy will be administered by a trained investigator according to the study protocol.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Jaw Function Score at Week 2
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 2
Jaw function will be assessed using the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8 (JFLS-8). This is a patient-reported questionnaire that measures limitation in jaw activities such as chewing, speaking, and mouth opening. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no functional limitation and 10 indicates the highest level of limitation. The primary outcome will be the change in JFLS-8 total score from baseline to Week 2.
Baseline and Week 2

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Uşak University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 2, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PT-TMJ

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to privacy and confidentiality considerations. De-identified aggregate data may be available from the corresponding investigator upon reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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