Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40333834›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2025

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy for temporomandibular disorder: A randomized clinical trial.

Jae-Heung Cho, Koh-Woon Kim, Hyungsuk Kim, Woo-Chul Shin, Me-Riong Kim, Joowon Kim, Min-Young Kim, Hyun-Woo Cho, In-Hyuk Ha, Yoon Jae Lee

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jae-Heung ChoDepartment of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Koh-Woon KimDepartment of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyungsuk KimDepartment of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Woo-Chul ShinDepartment of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8082-7558
Me-Riong KimJaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5245-6187
Joowon KimBucheon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
Min-Young KimJaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, Jaseng Medical Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hyun-Woo ChoHaeundae Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea.
In-Hyuk HaJaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, Jaseng Medical Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yoon Jae LeeJaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, Jaseng Medical Foundation, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1532-0942

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) for temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) remain unclear. Here, we compared the effectiveness of CMT and usual care for treating myofascial TMD. A 26-week randomized controlled trial was conducted from 2018 to 2019 with 80 patients across five hospitals in Korea who were diagnosed with myofascial TMD and had temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain lasting more than three months. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the CMT group, which underwent eight sessions of CMT over four weeks, or the usual care (UC) group, which received physical therapy for the same period. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated in terms of pain, function, and quality of life over 26 weeks. For determining cost-effectiveness, quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were analyzed, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios from the societal and healthcare system perspectives were calculated. At week 5, the visual analog scale (VAS) scores decreased more in the CMT group than in the control group, although the difference was statistically insignificant. The CMT group showed significant improvement in specific functional and quality of life measures, particularly in the EuroQoL-VAS (-13.21 (95% confidence interval [CI] -20.03 to -6.38) and the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-Global score of 0.59 (95% CI 0.13 to 1.05), through improvements were not consistent across all indices. The CMT group showed a slightly higher QALY, and the 26-week incremental cost in the CMT group was $338 lower than that of the usual care group. The cost of CMT was $150 higher than that of usual care, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per utility ranged from $4,011 to $17,851. When a "willingness to pay for treatment ($26,375)" threshold was applied, the probability of CMT being cost-effective was 68.1%-98.3%. Despite no significant differences in pain reduction at week 5, CMT was found to be a cost-effective treatment for TMD, particularly for improving function and quality of life. These findings may serve as a basis for considering the expansion of national health insurance coverage for Chuna therapy in Korea. Trial Registration: Clinical Research Information Service KCT0003192.

Indexed as

Musculoskeletal ManipulationsTemporomandibular Joint DisordersAdultCost-Benefit AnalysisFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementQuality-Adjusted Life YearsQuality of LifeRepublic of KoreaTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID40333834
PMCPMC12057850

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.