Surface electromyography for evaluating patients with oromandibular dystonia.

Objective: To investigate myoelectric signals of dystonic activities in oromandibular dystonia (OMD) subjects using surface electromyography (EMG).Methods: Twelve OMD subjects were included in this study. Resting myoelectric activities of the superficial masseter, anterior temporalis, and anterior belly of the digastric muscle on both sides were monitored, and dystonic muscle contractions were recorded using surface EMG. Myoelectric signal amplitude, the type of muscle contraction, and contraction rate for phasic activities were evaluated.Results: Surface EMG revealed that eight subjects had dystonic muscle activities in the phasic contraction pattern, three subjects had a tonic contraction pattern, and one subject had a mixed pattern. Synchronous contraction of dystonic muscles was frequently observed. Many of the monitored muscles showed high resting amplitudes.Conclusion: Surface EMG detects abnormal muscle activities related to oromandibular dystonia. Surface EMG can serve as an objective method for diagnosing oromandibular dystonia.