Bruxism is a parafunctional or unconscious act of grinding or clenching the teeth. The factors contributing to bruxism are thought to include joint and soft tissue injuries, genetic factors, fatigue, and stress. There is a consensus that the etiology of bruxism is multifactorial and originates from central mechanisms. Bruxism is a common parafunctional activity in the general population, occurring both during sleep and while awake. Daytime bruxism, which is more prevalent in women, affects approximately 20% of the adult population, while sleep bruxism affects around 10%. Overall, the prevalence of bruxism decreases with age, regardless of gender.
The treatment of bruxism aims to raise awareness of oral parafunctional behaviors, alleviate pain, establish a resting position for the temporomandibular joint, improve posture in the head and neck regions, restore muscle strength between affected muscles, and achieve pain-free range of motion. While there is no definitive treatment method, a variety of invasive (acupuncture, injections, surgery, etc.) and non-invasive (exercise, electrical stimulation, manual trigger point stimulation, taping, etc.) approaches are employed. In recent years, reversible non-invasive approaches have gained importance in treatment.
Taping and bandaging have long been part of physiotherapy practices as treatment methods. Kinesio® Tape is a latex-free, thin, cotton-based tape. Developed in Japan 25 years ago, Kinesio® Tape has become widely used in recent years, not only in the United States, Europe, and many other parts of the world but also in our country. The structure, thickness, and weight of the tape are similar to the physical properties of the skin, with a high degree of longitudinal elasticity. The tension levels of the tapes vary depending on the treatment purpose. The primary goal of the Kinesio taping method is to support healing by allowing pain-free movement. In the Kinesio taping method, the tape is applied around or over the muscles as needed to prevent muscle overactivity.
Psychological counseling and exercise are widely used techniques in the treatment of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) and have been shown to have positive outcomes in the literature. In a randomized controlled trial by Nimela et al., the efficacy of counseling and masticatory muscle exercises alone was found to be similar to that of stabilization splints in both pain relief and increasing active maximal mouth opening. In a study by Coşkun et al., the addition of kinesio taping to counseling and exercises resulted in significantly greater benefits in both the short and long term. While the beneficial effects of exercise and kinesio taping on TMD and bruxism have been confirmed in various studies, research investigating their impact on cervical awareness is quite limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of kinesio taping, in addition to exercise, on pain, temporomandibular joint range of motion, sleep quality, depression levels, and cervical awareness in individuals with bruxism.
