An interventional study of Local Peloid Therapy in Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs), Pain and Otalgia, sponsored by Uşak University. Recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-02.
Sponsored by Uşak University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
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.
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.
591 studies on the registry are indexed under Temporomandibular Joint Disorders; 149 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 45 across 415 interventional studies indexed under Temporomandibular Joint Disorders.
Browse Temporomandibular Joint Disorders studies →Uşak University is the lead sponsor of 80 studies on the registry; 10 are open to participants now.
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Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
Change in Jaw Function Score at 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.
Time frame: Baseline and Week 2
Plan to share: No — 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.
Started Apr 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2027, 9 months after the start.
Of 242 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, half reached primary completion within 11 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 21. This study's planned 9 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 246 studies reached it within 10 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 21.
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