Chiropractic Neuroscience Care in Sports Concussion

The Effects of Chiropractic Applied Clinical Neuroscience Care on Sports-Related Concussion Patients: An Observational Study

The goal of this study is to evaluate our study design and the potential effect of chiropractic-applied clinical neuroscience care on individuals with sports-related concussion (SRC) in individuals between the ages 18 and 40.The main question it aims to answer is:

- Is there any potential effect of chiropractic neuroscience care on sports related concussion patients?

Participants will be assessed on their attention, processing speed, fine motor function, standing balance, auditory function, and emotional state as part of the study using the NIH toolbox.

The investigators shall recruit 20 participants for this study who are currently active athletes affiliated with the Life University Athletics Department, aged between 18 and 40 years and have sport-related concussion symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, amnesia, balance impairment, irritability, visual disturbance, slowed reaction times, etc.

Subjects will do the following tasks:

1. Attention and Self-Control Test: In this test participants will look at rows of five fish on a screen and choose the direction of the middle fish while ignoring the others and press a button to show the direction of the middle fish.
2. Processing Speed Test: Participants will see two pictures side by side and decide if the pictures are the same or different and press a button as fast as they can.
3. Hand Skill Test: Subjects will be asked to do a hand skill/coordination test (called the 9-Hole Pegboard Test), where they place small pegs into holes and take them out as quickly as they can.
4. Standing Balance Test: In this test participants will stand still in various positions, sometimes with your eyes open and sometimes closed, on both hard ground and a soft foam pad, while trying to remain as still as possible. On one part of the test, they will stand with one foot in front of the other.
5. Hearing in Noise Test: Subjects will listen to words through headphones while background noise is playing. They will repeat the words they hear.
6. Emotion Surveys: They will answer questions about their feelings and relationships. These include how often they feel angry, sad, or lonely, and how happy or satisfied they feel with their life.

Assessments will be approximately 80 minutes over two sessions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently active athletes affiliated with the Life University Athletics Department
• Aged between 18 and 40 years
• Experiencing sport-related concussion symptoms, including but not limited to:
• Headache
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Loss of consciousness
• Amnesia
• Balance impairment
• Irritability
• Visual disturbance
• Slowed reaction times

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not affiliated with the Life University Athletics Department
• Younger than 18 or older than 40 years
• No current symptoms of sport-related concussion