Why this study exists
For many people, symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury don’t fade: headaches, dizziness, brain fog, poor sleep, pressure in the head. Standard mTBI assessments look at the brain. They rarely look at the craniocervical junction, the small, mobile region where the skull meets the top two vertebrae of the spine and where the nerves, blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid serving the brain all pass through.
The mTBI Keystone Research Study asks a direct question: do persistent post-concussive symptoms come from injury to the brain, injury to the craniocervical junction, or both? The goal is evidence strong enough to change how mTBI is evaluated and treated for service members and veterans.
Who can take part
Phase 1 is open to applicants who:
- Are U.S. Armed Forces veterans
- Have at least one mild traumatic brain injury diagnosis
- Have had symptoms for longer than three months
- Can attend two to three visits a week for eight weeks at our St. Petersburg clinic
Veterans who served in Special Operations, including those with blast exposure or breacher history, are prioritized for the first cohort. Later phases are planned to include special operators and athletes.
How it works
- Apply online. The application takes about ten minutes on the study website and covers your service history, injury history, symptoms and prior care.
- Personal review. The research team reviews every application. Veterans who served in Special Operations are prioritized for the first cohort.
- Evaluation. Selected applicants come in for an initial consultation and evaluation of about an hour and a half to confirm they are a fit.
- Eight weeks of care. Participants receive precise upper cervical care two to three times a week for eight weeks in St. Petersburg, at no cost.
Submitting an application does not guarantee selection. If you aren’t selected, or you aren’t a veteran, you can still be evaluated at Cerebral as a regular patient.
What the study measures
The study pairs care with objective testing. Its imaging and testing program includes MRI, SPECT, quantitative EEG (qEEG) and cone beam CT (CBCT) of the craniocervical junction. After the Phase 1 pilot of 50 veterans, later phases are designed as a randomized controlled trial of 400 participants across three arms: craniocervical care, brain-focused care (hyperbaric oxygen and photobiomodulation), and both in sequence.
Who is behind it
The study is sponsored by the Advanced Orthogonal Institute, doing business as the Craniocervical Institute, a Florida 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Cerebral is the clinical partner, providing craniocervical expertise and participant care. Genesis Brain Institute is the research partner. The study is conducted under the oversight of the Institutional Review Board of Sherman College of Chiropractic.
The principal investigator is Dr. Chris Slininger, DC, DCCJP, a U.S. Army veteran who sustained roughly ten mild traumatic brain injuries during his own service.
Full study details, the application and ways to support the research are at mtbiresearch.com.