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

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

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.

Inclusion Criteria:

• First-year medical students
• Not currently receiving osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant
• History of spinal surgery