Fluid dynamics of concussion in mixed martial arts in a pilot randomized controlled trial of OMM

This translational research project investigates the fluid dynamics and clinical effects of concussion in mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes and evaluates whether OMM can improve concussion recovery. Drawing upon both clinical and personal experience with MMA, this research informs a trial design that combines hands-on osteopathic assessment and manipulation with computational biomechanics. The study enrolls active MMA participants who risk head impacts during fights. Each participant undergoes a standardized external physical osteopathic exam, focused primarily on cranial and head findings, and completes computerized cognitive neuropsychological testing both before and after competition. Fights are recorded and the researchers document any head strikes and their locations to support post-fight evaluations. For participants who sustain a head impact and show concussion symptoms, the protocol advances into a randomized intervention phase. Those individuals are randomized to receive either OMM — described as gentle manual contact to the head and other relevant body regions — or a light-touch placebo (sham) treatment.

The primary clinical hypothesis is that OMM will produce measurable improvements in concussion-related symptoms and speed cognitive recovery compared with the light-touch control. Mancini and the team expect to observe changes across cognitive, behavioral, and hormonal measures among athletes who suffer concussions versus those who do not, and to identify correlations between osteopathic exam findings and changes in neuropsychological test scores. A central, innovative component of the project is the integration of patient-specific computational modeling to quantify cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics and cranial strain patterns resulting from impact. Researchers will apply a nonlinear fluid-structure interaction algorithm with comprehensive, individualized brain geometry to simulate how CSF moves during and immediately after the blunt forces common in MMA — punches, kicks and takedowns.

This modeling aims to visualize and quantify CSF currents and cranial strain, linking the biomechanical location and characteristics of impact to observed cognitive deficits (for example, transient language impairment when CSF dynamics affect language areas). The computational findings will be correlated with clinical exam changes and neuropsychological testing to explore mechanistic pathways by which cranial biomechanics influence symptomatology and recovery. The pilot randomized controlled design, combining clinical osteopathic methods with advanced computational biomechanics, seeks to bridge clinical practice and basic science. If successful, the study could provide evidence for OMM as a therapeutic option to improve concussion outcomes in MMA athletes and yield mechanistic insights into how CSF movement and cranial strain contribute to focal cognitive effects after head trauma.