Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Rocabado's 6 × 6 exercises on masseter muscle thickness, muscle elasticity, and pain scores in patients with bruxism.

Methods: A total of 58 participants with bruxism were divided into 2 groups as the exercise group (EG) and control group (CG). A self-care program was applied for the participants in the CG. For those in the EG, in addition to the self-care program, an exercise treatment was performed for 6 days per week for a total of 8 weeks. Using ultrasonography, bilateral masseter muscle thickness and elasticity were assessed before and after treatment. Pain was measured using a visual analog scale. Changes over time within the groups and group-time interactions for continuous variables were assessed using mixed 2-way repeated measures analysis of variance.

Results: The improvement in muscle elasticity (P = .015; P = .004) and pain values (P = .049; P = .040) were greater in the EG compared with the CG. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups for masseter muscle thickness (P > .05).

Conclusion: This study suggests that Rocabado's 6 × 6 exercises are effective in the treatment of muscle elasticity and pain values in participants with bruxism.

This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; full text is available by subscription. Click on the above link and select a publisher from PubMed's LinkOut feature.