Acupuncture & TMJ pain Acupuncture alleviates pain and restores mobility for patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD), a temporomandibular joint disturbance syndrome involving the jaw joint and muscles. Second Hospital Affiliated to Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine researchers examined two acupuncture protocols in a clinical trial. They determined that warm needle acupuncture produced a 93.3% total effective rate and standard manual acupuncture produced an 86.7% total effective rate. [1] The efficacy criteria included 4 levels: Fully recovered: swelling and painful sensation disappeared, headache and tinnitus disappeared, unrestrained jaw mobility, clicking sound at the jaw disappeared Significantly effective: symptoms markedly improved Relieved: symptoms slightly improved Ineffective: symptoms persisted