Exercise Therapy for Cancer Treatment-Induced Trismus in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Radiotherapy and Oncology
Shao, C. H., Chiang, C. C., et al. (2020).
Radiotherapy and Oncology, 151, 249-255.
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of mouth-opening devices and exercises on trismus in patients with head and neck cancer.
Yuan’s General Hospital of Taiwan
From database inception to July 2020
Randomized controlled trials
13
<div>Findings demonstrated that exercise therapies incorporating the use of jaw-mobilizing devices (e.g., TheraBite, EZ bite, Jaw Dynasplint) were associated with significant improvements in maximal interincisal opening (MIO) for individuals at risk for chemotherapy and/or radiation-associated trismus. MIO improvement was:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>4.48mm after 5-10 weeks of treatment with the TheraBite device;</li>
<li>6.00 mm after 3-month treatment with the TheraBite device; and</li>
<li>14.20 mm after 3-month treatment with the EZ bite device.</li>
</ul>
<div>While oral opening did improve, therapies including mouth-opening exercises and/or devices did not have a significant impact on post-intervention incidence of trismus overall. Limitations to this review include heterogeneity between included studies and small sample sizes. The authors additionally mention that the use of jaw-mobilizing devices may be cost prohibitive for some patients. Further research is indicated.</div>
</div>
