Pilot Program

An Invitation-Only Program for Special Operations Veterans

This page is for veterans who have been personally invited to learn more about and enroll in our pilot study. If you're here, someone in your community thought you might be a good fit — and we're glad you're taking a look.

Here's everything you need to know about what this is, what it involves, and what we're asking of you.

ABOUT THE PILOT PROGRAM

We are preparing to launch a large-scale clinical trial studying whether correcting a specific structural problem in the upper neck can meaningfully improve the symptoms that many veterans carry home after mTBI. This is based on years of successful outcomes in this space Before we run that full study, we are doing a smaller pilot with 10 Special Operations veterans to test our process, gather early outcome data, and make sure the program works the way we intend.

This pilot is not a sales pitch and it is not experimental treatment. Advanced Orthogonal upper cervical care has been practiced for decades and we have seen strong results with mTBI patients across many backgrounds — athletes, accident survivors, and veterans. This pilot is specifically focused on the SOF community, the types of injuries that are common in that environment, and the symptoms that tend to follow.

Participation is complimentary. There is no cost to you for any part of this program.

The Problem We're Addressing

Blast exposure, hard training impacts, combatives, and high-G events do not just affect the brain — they act on the head and neck together. The junction where your skull meets the top of your neck is held in place by small ligaments that are built for mobility, not for absorbing force. These ligaments can be stretched or damaged by the same events that cause concussions — and sometimes by events that don't even produce a concussion at the time.

When the top of the neck shifts out of alignment, it creates pressure on the brainstem and disrupts blood flow, fluid drainage, and the part of your nervous system that controls your stress response. This can produce or sustain a wide range of symptoms — chronic sleep problems, hypervigilance, headaches, brain fog, dizziness, vision issues, and neck pain — long after the original injury. Because this is a structural problem, it often does not resolve on its own and is rarely identified or addressed in standard VA or military care.

The Solution We're Studying

The care in this program is called Advanced Orthogonal — a precision upper cervical chiropractic technique that identifies and corrects misalignment at the top of the neck. Using detailed imaging, we calculate the exact nature of each person's misalignment and deliver a correction using a specialized instrument. There is no twisting, cracking, or popping. The correction is gentle, specific, and calculated individually for each participant.

What the Program Involves

Duration: 8 weeks of care plus a final evaluation

Visit Schedule:

• Weeks 1 through 4: 3 visits per week
• Weeks 5 through 8: 2 visits per week
• Total: approximately 20 visits

Visit Length:

• Your first two visits are approximately one hour each. These include your full evaluation, imaging, and baseline assessments.
• All subsequent visits are typically 30 minutes or less.
• Your final visit includes a full re-evaluation and will take approximately one hour.

What Happens at Each Stage:

1. Initial Consultation — We review your history, the events you've experienced, and your current symptoms in detail.
2. Baseline Assessments — You'll complete a set of forms and assessments that screen for common mTBI symptoms and give us a clear picture of where you're starting. These include cognitive screenings and neurological assessments similar to what is used in VA and military research settings — which allows us to compare our outcomes against existing data.
3. Imaging — We take upper cervical X-rays to identify exactly how your neck is aligned and where misalignment exists.
4. Care — You receive 8 weeks of individualized Advanced Orthogonal corrections based on your specific imaging.
5. Final Evaluation — At the end of the program, we repeat your imaging, neurological exam, and all baseline assessments to measure and document any changes.

What We're Measuring

This pilot is focused on three things:

• Structural changes — Does the alignment of the upper neck change with care, and how much?
• Neurological changes — Are there measurable improvements in the neurological signs we identified at baseline?
• Symptom changes — How do your reported symptoms shift across the 8 weeks?

We are using assessment tools that are also used in VA and military research, so the data we collect can be meaningfully compared to outcomes from more traditional interventions. This helps us build a stronger case for why this type of care deserves a place in how the military and VA approach mTBI.

The data from this pilot will be used to support the launch of our full 400-participant clinical trial and to continue expanding access to this type of care within the veteran and special operations community.

What We're Asking of You

• A commitment to attend all scheduled visits over 8 weeks
• Willingness to complete intake forms, assessments, and follow-up paperwork honestly and thoroughly
• Completion of the final evaluation at the end of the program

That's it. The time commitment is real — roughly 20 visits over 8 weeks — but the visits are short after the first two, and the schedule is designed to work around your life.

Who Qualifies

• SOF veteran, no longer on active duty
• One or more concussions, repetitive blast exposure, or large blast exposure at least 6 months ago
• Currently experiencing one or more of the following: sleep disruption, chronic hypervigilance or PTSD, headaches or head pressure, brain fog, visual disturbances, neck pain, or postural problems
• Able to commit to the full 8-week schedule

Conducted By

This pilot is conducted by Dr. Chris Slininger, DC, DCCJP through the Advanced Orthogonal Institute, a Florida 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All care takes place at Cerebral Chiropractic Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Dr. Slininger is a craniocervical specialist, US Army veteran, and founder of Cerebral Chiropractic Center.