Evolution of the Mind-body Connection While Learning About Common Osteopathic Dysfunctions

Overview

Anecdotally, as first-year medical students learn about common osteopathic dysfunctions, they seem to become more aware of possible dysfunctions in their own bodies. This study will explore whether this new awareness is because of a strengthened mind-body connection, leading to increased proprioceptive awareness, or whether these students are experiencing "medical student syndrome." Medical school syndrome is a common phenomenon, especially in the first years of medical school, defined as experiencing "vague bodily symptoms in terms of the latest disease they have learnt about." This study will be conducted in multiple phases throughout 2022- 2023, based around the first year Osteopathic Manual Manipulation (OMM) exam schedule. After study recruitment during orientation week, first year students will be given the baseline participant survey. This survey asks participants to report pain/discomfort in the thoracic, lumbar, or rib/chest areas, as well as what this sensation may be attributed to (ex: somatic dysfunction, muscle soreness, traumatic injury, etc.). After completing the surveys, participants will undergo an osteopathic evaluation to confirm their stated symptoms. Researchers will not be aware of the participants' survey answers for the duration of the data collection portion of the study to reduce unintentional bias during the osteopathic evaluations. After the first-year students complete each OMM module (thoracic spine, lumbar spine, ribs/chest), they will be given the same survey and osteopathic evaluation. Timing is of particular importance in this study-- conducting the survey and evaluation at a time when students are acutely aware of somatic dysfunctions specific to each region will allow us to link acquisition of this knowledge to the mind-body connection. If a participant reports new or increased pain/discomfort in the region just taught, it is likely to be linked to an increased awareness of the region. The osteopathic evaluation, in conjunction with the participant's attribution of the sensation, will determine if the student is experiencing increased proprioception, or a case of medical school syndrome.

Data collection will take place in three week-long phases over the course of the first semester, timed around each first year Osteopathic Manual Manipulation Course exam. In the week after the first-year exam, participants will undergo an osteopathic examination and fill out a questionnaire. This process should take approximately 30 minutes per session, for a total of 1.5 hours over the course of five months. Data analysis will be conducted in the second semester. In total, the estimated period of time for this project will be from the last week in July 2022 to May 2023. This data analysis will involve matching student surveys given throughout the year with findings from the osteopathic evaluations. Comparing the baseline and the subsequent subject surveys during data analysis will allow researchers to identify whether a new somatic dysfunction has arisen during the research period, and whether the subject is able to correctly identify and attribute this dysfunction. All participants will be coded both on the participant survey and the osteopathic evaluation data form to protect their anonymity, as well as to blind the researchers. Data will be stored in a Google Drive via Google Forms. Only the researchers will have access to these files via their Touro emails. There will not be any risk to participants, nor will there likely be much benefit to the participants after completing the study besides assisting in furthering the field of osteopathic research.