ClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT06894472Updated Mar 25, 2025

A Comparative Study of EMG Biofeedback and Pharmacotherapy for the Treatment of Masticatory Muscle Hyperactivity in Bruxism Patients

An interventional study of Electromyography biofeedback and Pharmacotherapy in Bruxism, sponsored by Beni-Suef University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 25 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-03-25.

Sponsored by Beni-Suef University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Apr 2025, 1 year 6 months ago, but the record still lists the study as not yet recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 25 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study examines the effect of electromyography biofeedback on masticatory muscles hyperactivity on patients with bruxism.

Read the detailed description

Bruxism is a movement disorder characterized by excessive activity of the masticatory muscles, resulting in teeth clenching and grinding. It affects 50% to 95% of the adult population. Unlike normal, voluntary chewing movements associated with eating, bruxism involves involuntary jaw muscle contractions that cause tension, leading to muscle soreness and pain. Common symptoms include localized muscle tenderness, orofacial pain, anxiety, stress, fatigue, headaches (especially in the temporal region), restricted mouth opening, and temporomandibular joint stiffness. These symptoms can disrupt sleep, causing transitions from deep to light sleep, increased micro-arousals, and sleep fragmentation, leading to daytime fatigue that impacts social life and work performance.

Bruxism can also lead to masticatory muscle hypertrophy (especially the masseter), tongue burning, linea alba on the cheeks, excessive tooth wear, damage to dental prosthetics, changes in saliva secretion, severe craniofacial pain, and TMJ stiffness. Common treatments for bruxism-related pain often involve medications like Botox, clonazepam, or diazepam, but these are typically temporary and do not address the underlying causes. Moreover, long-term use of these medications may cause complications, and their high cost can limit accessibility.

Non-pharmacological treatments for bruxism include biofeedback, muscle relaxation exercises, occlusal splint therapy, and psychotherapy. Biofeedback, which provides real-time information on bodily functions, helps individuals recognize and modify harmful behaviors. Electromyography (EMG) biofeedback, recognized as effective for temporomandibular disorders (including bruxism), is endorsed by the American Association of Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) as an evidence-based intervention.

This study aims to compare the effects of EMG biofeedback training versus oral medications in reducing masticatory muscle hyperactivity in bruxism patients, focusing on addressing the underlying pathophysiology, a topic that, to the authors' knowledge, has not been explored in previous research.

02

Conditions studied

  • Bruxism

Browse trials for

03

In context

Bruxism

151 studies on the registry are indexed under Bruxism; 39 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 39 across 94 interventional studies indexed under Bruxism.

Browse Bruxism studies →

Lead sponsor

Beni-Suef University is the lead sponsor of 349 studies on the registry; 125 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 25 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Twenty adult subjects with definite mild to moderate bruxism examined by a dentist prior to the study.
  • Tenderness of masticatory muscles on palpation grade one and two according to the digital palpating scale
  • Mild to moderate myofascial pain around the temporomandibular joint causing discomfort in the morning.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Took any Botox or PRP injection treatment for this condition for the last six months
  • Had any advanced periodontal disease.
  • Any intraoral fixed splints.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Under psychiatric care.
  • Parkinson
  • Have any visual or auditory impairment.
  • Any cervical posture abnormalities.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Electromyography biofeedback + Pharmacotherapy

    This group will be treated with electromyography biofeedback for one month with a frequency of 3 sessions/week in addition to the pharmacotherapy which prescribed by the dentist.

    Other: Electromyography biofeedback · Drug: Pharmacotherapy

  • Other
    Pharmacotherapy

    This group will be treated only with the pharmacotherapy which prescribed by the dentist.

    Drug: Pharmacotherapy

Interventions

  • OtherElectromyography biofeedback

    Participants in the experimental group will receive surface electromyography (SEMG) feedback training, targeting the Masseter muscle, for 40 minutes per session according to the Evidence-Based practice since longer practice may become counterproductive due to fatigue and loss of focus. The frequency of the sessions will be 3 sessions/week for 4 weeks.

  • DrugPharmacotherapy

    Pharmacotherapy will be received by all participants in the two groups in the form of multi relaxant (cyclobenzaprine) 10 MG twice daily for 4 weeks \& anti inflammatory (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Assessment of Masseter Hyperactivity

    The assessment of Masseter muscle hyperactivity will be carried out by the digital palpating scale according to the following criteria: Grade Zero (0): when the muscle palpated and there is no pain or tenderness reported by the patient. Grade (1): Recorded if the patient response the palpation is uncomfortable (tenderness or soreness). Grade (2): is recorded if the patient experiences definite discomfort or pain. Grade (3): is recorded if the patient shows evasive action or eye tearing or verbalizes a desire not to have the area palpated again.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Mar 2025; primary completion for Apr 2025, 1 month later.

Of 59 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Bruxism, half reached primary completion within 8 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 13. This study's planned 1 month is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 60 studies reached it within 7 months; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 13.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Mar 19, 2025
First posted
Mar 25, 2025
StartEst.
Mar 26, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Apr 26, 2025
CompletionEst.
May 1, 2025
Last update
Mar 25, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 25, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06894472
Responsible party
Sara Abdullah mohamed elsamahy (Principal Investigator, Beni-Suef University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 25, 2025
Start date
Mar 26, 2025 (estimated)
Primary completion
Apr 26, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
May 1, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 25, 2025

Study contacts

Sara Abdullah mohamed elsamahy, PhD
Contact
Saraaelsamahy@gmail.com
+20 11 51401438
Sara Abdullah mohamed elsamahy, PhD
principal investigator · Lecturer
Mohamed Farouk Abdel-Latif, PhD
principal investigator · Lecturer
Amal Ahmed Mohamed Morsi, PhD
principal investigator · Lecturer
Wafaa Atef Abd Allah, PhD
principal investigator · Lecturer
Myassar Ayman Amine, M.Sc
principal investigator · Ass. Lecturer

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Mar 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion