Prevalence of temporomandibular joint disorders in competitive swimmers: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Swimming is a combination of upper limb and lower extremities strength exercise and also cardiovascular training. In competitive swimmers during swimming functional variations in anatomy or biomechanics and poor techniques leads to overuse injuries and micro trauma. TMD is multifactorial disorder commonly associated with masticatory and articular disabilities. According to previous studies there is a high demand on neck rotation and upper limb activities for the propulsion of the body inside the water and which negative synchronized activities of jaw and mastication structure. There is no studies have been attempted to find out the prevalence of TMD among competitive swimmers through there is a greater demand on TMJ structure due to their swimming mechanics.