Efeito da estimula？？o elétrica de alta voltagem catódica sobre a dor em mulheres com DTM

background: pain is the main symptom of patients with temporomandibular disorder (tmd). objective: to evaluate the effect of cathodal high-voltage electrical stimulation (hves) on pain intensity in women with tmd. methods: twenty women with tmd (24.25±8.90 years old) participated in the study. they were divided into experimental group (eg, n=10), which received 10 applications of hves, and placebo group (pg, n=10), which received sham treatment with disconnected hves equipment. for the sample selection, we used the research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorder (rdc/tmd). pain level was evaluated using a visual analog scale (vas) applied prior to and after the tenth application of hves. data were analyzed using the wilcoxon signed-rank test and the mann-whitney test. results: ten applications of hves reduced pain intensity in the eg (p=0.01). in the pg, there was no significant difference (p=0.20). after the application of hves, no difference was found (p=0.65) between the groups. conclusion: the cathodal hves was effective in reducing pain in women with tmd. trial registration rbr-4bk94x.