Investigating the Effects of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on Stress Management in Medical Students

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate stress biomarkers, subjective stress levels, and cognitive function in medical students. The main question[s] it aims to answer are: Does regular osteopathic manipulative treatment affect stress in medical students? Does regular osteopathic manipulative treatment affect cognitive function in medical students? Participants will be split into two groups, control and treatment, and undergo a designated protocol for six weeks. The treatment protocol will include weekly sessions of three OMT techniques: paraspinal inhibition, rib raising, and condylar decompression. Concurrently, participants' salivary cortisol levels will be collected weekly and analyzed using an Invitrogen ELISA Immunoassay Kit. Additionally, cognitive function will be assessed weekly via Lumosity, while stress levels are gauged using the College Student Stress Scale (CSSS) survey. Researchers will compare one cohort of medical students who receive weekly OMT and another cohort of medical students who have weekly check-ins without OMT to see if OMT can affect changes in stress biomarkers, subjective stress scales, and cognitive function.

Official Title
-----------------
The Effects of Regular OMT on Stress Levels and Cognitive Function in OMS-I Students at Touro COM-NY Harlem

Conditions
-----------------
Stress, Psychological, Stress, Job, Student Burnout, Stress, Physiological

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Other: Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: First-year medical students Not currently receiving osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) Exclusion Criteria: Pregnant History of spinal surgery

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Treatment<br> | Other: Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine<br>* Individuals in the experimental cohort will undergo a systematic osteopathic manipulative treatment protocol encompassing paraspinal inhibition, rib raising, and condylar decompression techniques.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Cortisol Level | Salivary Cortisol as measured in an ELISA Immunoassay | Weekly, over the course of 8 week study | 
| College Student Subjective Stress Survey (CSSS) Numerical Score | Numerical Score collected from the College Student Subjective Stress Survey, a 10-item survey investigating occurrence of stressors over the course of a week, with each item being rated from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very Often). A lower score reflects lower perceived stress while a higher score reflects higher perceived stress. | Weekly, over the course of 8 week study | 
| LPI | Learning Performance Index Metric from Lumosity | Weekly, over the course of 8 week study | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
OMM, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, Cortisol, Medical Student Stress, Cognitive Function, OMT