Students and faculty from Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) are spending their summer break in the lab and clinic, working on five hands-on research projects focused on how osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) can help patients.
The studies involve 21 student doctors and are part of Burrell’s Summer Research Experience.
“In OMM this summer, we have five projects involving 21 students,” said Dr. Jonathon Kirsch, chair of the department. “These include a study of OMT in migraine headache that Dr. Picciotti is working on with Dr. Coni, and a study of the CV4 OMT technique and its effects on the parasympathetic nervous system by Dr. Kania.”
Dr. Picciotti is involved in two other projects as well. One explores the impact of OMT on overhead athletes. The other is focused on dysmenorrhea, painful menstrual cramps, and whether certain OMT techniques can ease symptoms.
Student doctor Carolina del Mar Orria Ferreira is one of five students on the dysmenorrhea study.
“Research is a way to dig deeper into topics we care about, especially in areas like women’s health where we still have a lot to learn,” she said. “We’re hoping to collect meaningful data that could actually change how these issues are treated.”
Ferreira and her team, Devin Stanley, Salvatore Corallo, Ariena Torabi, and Julia Pacek, will be trained on five OMT techniques, which they’ll apply to half of the study’s 50 participants. The other half will serve as the control group. Their goal is to find out if OMT can provide measurable relief.
In addition to the study on CV4 technique, Dr. Kania is also leading a study that looks at how manipulating a Chapman reflex point may influence physiological response, using data collected during lab sessions over the past year.
“Osteopathic physicians and patients already know how effective manipulation can be,” Kania said. “This summer’s research is about digging into the ‘how’—understanding what’s happening in the body during these treatments. And along the way, students are sharpening the skills they’ll use for the rest of their careers.”
Ferreira said Burrell’s support has made it easy for students to get involved in research.
“I’ve always been told to get involved in research, but never really shown how,” she said. “At Burrell, not only are we encouraged to participate, but faculty are eager to work with us—even if we’re just getting started. That makes a huge difference.”
