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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT07175753

Chiropractic Neuroscience Care in Sports Concussion

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Sports Related Concussion

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

NeuroLife Institute

Marietta, Georgia, 30060, United States

About this study

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:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Hearing in Noise Test: Subjects will listen to words through headphones while background noise is playing. They will repeat the words they hear.
  • 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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

chiropractic applied clinical neuroscience care

Other

Standard chiropractic care with physiotherapy and phototherapy over two sessions

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants Who Complete All Study Visits and Procedures

    Time frame: 1 year

    The number of participants who complete all scheduled study visits, tests, and treatments without early withdrawal. This measure assesses participant tolerability and compliance with the full study protocol. The unit of measure is the number of participants completing full study protocol.

  2. Recruitment

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of participant enrolled in the study within the recruitment period.

  3. Retention

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of participants who remain enrolled and complete the study protocol.

  4. Adherence

    Time frame: 1 year

    Number of completed required study visits and treatments per participant.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Executive Function, Attention, and Inhibitory Control

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test (FICAT) scores using the NIH Toolbox. The unit of measure is the T score on FICAT.

  2. Change in Visual Processing Speed

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test (PCPS) scores using the NIH Toolbox. The unit of measure is T score of the PCPS.

  3. Change in Fine Motor Skills and Dexterity

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in 9-Hole Pegboard Dexterity Test scores using the NIH Toolbox. Unit of measure is time in seconds to complete task (9-Hole Pegboard Test, NIH Toolbox)

  4. Change in Postural Stability and Balance

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in Balance Test scores using the NIH Toolbox Balance V3, Unit of measure is time in seconds using the NIH Toolbox Balance V3.

  5. Change in Auditory Processing and Speech Recognition in Noise

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in Words-In-Noise (WIN) Test scores using the NIH Toolbox. Unit of measure is T score from WIN Test.

  6. Change in Negative Affect of Anger and Sadness

    Time frame: 1

    Change from baseline in Emotional Battery Test scores using the NIH toolbox. Unit of measure is T score of Emotional Battery Test using NIH toolbox.

  7. Change in Emotional Support and Loneliness

    Time frame: 1

    Change from baseline in social relationships using Emotional Battery Test scores using the NIH toolbox. Unit of measure is T score of Emotional Battery Test.

  8. Change in Psychological Well-being (General Life Satisfaction and Positive Affect)

    Time frame: 1 year

    Change from baseline in psychological well-being using the Emotional Battery Test scores using the NIH toolbox. Unit of measure is T score of Emotional Battery Test using NIH toolbox.

  9. Acceptability from Participant Perspective

    Time frame: 1 year

    Participant ratings of acceptability of Sports Related Concussion intervention using a structured questionnaire. Unit of measure is the score of participants acceptability questionnaire using Likert scale (1-5) 1- Not at all, 2 - A little bit, 3 - Somewhat, 4 - Quite a bit, 5 - Very much

  10. Acceptability from Clinician Perspective

    Time frame: 1 year

    Clinician ratings of acceptability of the Sports Related Concussion intervention, using a structured questionnaire. Unit of measure is the score of clinicians acceptability questionnaire using Likert scale 1- Strongly disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - No opinion, 4 - Agree, 5 - Strongly agree

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Life University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

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

Acronym: SRC

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Sep 16, 2025
Registry last updated
Dec 18, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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