For the past 354 years, Hyperbaric therapies (HBOT) have been used worldwide for healing people with a variety of medical conditions. Most U.S. physicians are only aware of the 14 Medicare approved medical indications i.e. CO poisoning, Decompression illness, critical wound care, et.al. However, there are many other "off-label" indications where HBOT is dramatically helpful for a multitude of people who suffer with inflammatory and circulatory conditions.
When someone suffers with a stroke or heart attack, tissue damage occurs due to a lack of blood flow which therefore decreases oxygen (O2) delivery to nourish the tissues. This cellular injury leads to inflammation which only further compromises the delivery of oxygen for tissue recovery. These cellular insults in many instances are considered "irreversible", when we treat based on "insurance-based tunnel vision". In many other countries, many Cardiac and Neurological injuries are often treated with Hyperbaric therapies to augment healing and reverse the damaged, inflamed and hypoxic tissues. In China for example, Cardiac bypass surgeries are often performed in a Hyperbaric pressurized operating suite, to help reduce the risks of; post-op memory loss, cardiac dysrhythmia and vascular complications etc.
"The Physiologic Definition of HBOT is the pharmacological use of greater than atmospheric pressure and oxygen, to treat basic disease processes/states and their diseases" Paul Harch MD. Dr. Harch has been instrumental in developing treatment protocols of reversing tissue damage with; near drowning injury, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and many other neurologic insults. Due to his research for the military, the drug of choice for Blast or TBI is HBOT. Unfortunately, insurance companies only recognize this for active military personnel and not the millions of civilians suffering from head injuries. Perhaps with the CTE football concussion concerns this may change. Hyperbaric therapies have dramatically helped heal those athletes and others, who willingly pay for this needed therapy. Improvements and SPECT brain imaging scans show some significant reversals of the brain injury pattern, with HBOT.
Within your blood vessel, you have Red Blood Cells (RBCs) which travel in liquid (plasma). Most RBCs are 98% saturated with Oxygen (O2) whereas the plasma has only minuscule amounts of dissolved O2. By adding nasal O2, only the RBC can reach 100% saturation. Hyperbaric therapy can markedly concentrate O2 dissolve into the plasma, which can reach areas that the large RBC cannot, thus permeating Oxygen throughout the tissues nourishing the areas damaged by inflammation or cell injury and stimulate 'idling neurons".
Reversing tissue injury and inflammation for many with; Stroke, MS, Parkinson's, Autism, ADHD, Crohn's, UC, Migraine, Lyme Disease, Infections, Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, CP, Autoimmune conditions, Arthritis, Radiation damage, Cancer and Dementia, are only a few conditions where HBOT treatment has helped, but are considered "off label" by insurances.
Why do many professional sports players and teams travel with portable Hyperbaric chambers, and use them after many games? They know how well HBOT reverses the injured and inflamed tissues and stimulate genetic and stem cell release of reparative systems. In my medical practice, we have even seen a 40% reduction of the time within casts for many fractured bones, when the person goes into the hyperbaric chamber often. Improving Post-op memory loss, and peripheral vascular issues have also been dramatic at FWC. Most treatment protocols are for 20-40+ treatment sessions depending on the conditions. Many can be done safely within your home if you rent a chamber for your home.
Daniel Amen MD is a world renowned psychiatrist who is now measuring brain function improvements with Pre and Post Hyperbaric therapies with sophisticated SPECT brain imaging. This test has shown the actual repair of brain tissue function for many with; traumatic brain injuries, toxic exposures, Depression, Seizures, Dementia, ADHD, Autism and cognitive delays etc., when following proper dietary and supplement regimens-synergistic with HBOT.
David Dornfeld DO was the moderator and a speaker at the International Hyperbaric Assoc. Conference in June 2018. There he learned that there is hope that non-military ins. coverage may eventually be granted for TBI and other conditions helped with HBOT. The "tunnel-vision" that is seen in today's medical/insurance system hopefully will change and hyperbaric therapies will advance to help many more thrive. For more information contact Family Wellness Center, 732.671.3730 Middletown, NJ www.familywellnesscenternj.com
This article appears in Natural Awakenings Jersey Shore najerseyshore.com