The Effects of Wearing a Medical Mask on the Masticatory and Neck Muscle Activity in Healthy Young Women

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of wearing a medical mask on masticatory and neck muscle activity in healthy young women. We recruited 66 healthy women aged from 18 to 30 years (mean 23.6 ± 2.3 years). The temporalis anterior (TA), the superficial part of the masseter muscle (MM), the anterior bellies of the digastric muscle (DA), and the middle part of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) potentials were recorded at rest and during functional activity using an eight-channel device for surface electromyography—BioEMG IIITM. There was a statistically significant decrease in mean TA activity during medical mask measurement compared to no mask examination at rest (2.16 µV vs. 2.58 µV; p = 0.05; ES = 0.2). Significant decreases in resting RMS values were also observed during the medical mask phase in comparison to no mask examination concerning the left MM (1.75 µV vs. 2.17 µV; p = 0.01; ES = 0.3), and mean bioelectrical activity of the MM (1.81 µV vs. 2.15 µV; p = 0.02; ES = 0.2). The differences between the two conditions did not reach the assumed significance level (p > 0.05) in terms of other indices. Wearing a medical mask has a small effect on decreasing the resting potentials of the temporalis anterior and masseter muscles without changing the parameters of activity and asymmetry within the stomatognathic system.