Research at the Institute
A federally registered research organization building the evidence base for precision upper cervical care.
Advanced Orthogonal has always been a measurement-first discipline — misalignment quantified from digital X-ray analysis, corrections delivered by instrument rather than by hand, outcomes monitored over time. That same rigor is what the Institute now brings to formal research. Our aim is straightforward: produce data of a quality that stands up outside our own profession.
Certified to compete for federally funded research.
System for Award Management
Registration in SAM.gov is the federal government's entity registry — the prerequisite for receiving any federal grant, contract, or award. Our active registration establishes the Institute as a recognized entity eligible to submit proposals, hold awards, and receive federal research funding.
Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal
EBRAP is the submission portal for the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Our registration gives the Institute a direct path to submit pre-applications and full proposals to DoD biomedical research funding opportunities — including those addressing traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and neurological conditions.
Together these registrations mean the Institute is positioned to pursue funded, peer-reviewed investigation — not merely to publish case reports, but to compete for the kind of support that produces trials the wider medical community reads.
How we design a study.
1 · Objective, instrument-derived measurement
Every Advanced Orthogonal correction begins with a precise digital X-ray analysis and an instrument setting derived from those numbers. This produces something most manual-technique research cannot: a quantified pre- and post-intervention variable that does not depend on the examiner's hands. Study design starts there.
2 · Reproducible protocol across sites
Because the adjusting instrument delivers a consistent, pre-set force based entirely on patient-specific variables, the intervention itself is reproducible from doctor to doctor and clinic to clinic. Multi-site data collection is therefore viable in a way it rarely is for hands-on techniques — and reproducibility is the foundation of any credible trial.
3 · Validated outcome instruments
Clinical outcomes are captured using established, published instruments rather than internally invented scales, so results can be compared against the wider literature. Where physiological measures are appropriate, we pair patient-reported outcomes with objective data.
4 · Ethical oversight and data integrity
Human-subjects research is conducted under appropriate institutional review, with informed consent, pre-specified endpoints, and de-identified data handling. Our practitioner network's data is protected under the same security standards that govern the Institute's member platform.
5 · Publication and peer review
Findings are prepared for peer-reviewed publication regardless of whether they confirm our expectations. Research that only reports favorable results is advocacy, not science.
A technique built on precise measurement should be held to an equally exacting standard of evidence.
Upper cervical chiropractic has a long clinical record and a thin research record. Closing that gap is how the discipline earns a seat at the table with neurology, physical medicine, and military health — and how patients with complex, poorly served conditions eventually get referred to us rather than found by accident.
Practitioner participation.
Certified Advanced Orthogonal doctors are the Institute's research network. Participation can mean contributing de-identified outcome data from your practice, serving as a data-collection site for a funded study, or submitting a case for publication support. If you would like to be included as opportunities open, contact the Institute and we will add you to the research roster.
Interested in contributing to a study?
Tell us about your practice and we'll add you to the research roster.