Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, which is where all ATP is made. This is known as aerobic respiration, or how our cells breathe. Oxygen is essential for life, but it is the way it affects the function of every cell in the human body that makes it necessary for healing and life. Without oxygen, we cannot produce energy for our brains, organs, or any tissue. The more oxygen we can supply to our tissues, the healthier, more energetic and mentally well we will feel. It has a very high affinity for electrons (high electronegativity), which makes it a good electron acceptor and perfect in its role. In short, oxygen allows us to produce ATP, which is our body's energy currency required by all cellular processes to function and heal, supporting normal body and brain function.

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Brain injury, concussion/contusion, migraines, stress, anxiety, depression, and other neurological conditions:

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This becomes really important when we're treating the brain, as it requires energy, or ATP, to heal, just like any cell in our body does. People who have suffered a concussion/brain injury, who suffer from migraines, headaches, or who experience neurological symptoms can especially benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Our brain, specifically the autonomic nervous system, regulates where blood flow will increase or decrease in response to metabolic demand. We often lose our ability to provide proper amounts of oxygen to the brain and various other structures in the body when the master system, our nervous system, is affected. The brain requires oxygen, glucose, and activation to maintain normal function, and therefore by providing oxygen through mHBOT therapy, we can create neuroplasticity, which is the strengthening of healthy neurological pathways, patterns, and signals, generating new interneural connections , providing a healthier brain.

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Off-label conditions that may benefit from mHBOT:

• Concussion/Contusion  Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

• migraines

• post-surgical healing

• Depression

• Autonomic dysregulation (Dysautonomia)

• Autoimmune disease

• Pain

• Neuropathy

• nerve injury

• Lyme disease

• musculoskeletal injury

• Crohn's/IBS

• Burns/Wound Healing

• Sports Injury / Athletic Recovery

• ADD, ADHD

• learning disabilities

• Autism

• Multiple sclerosis

• Headaches

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Absolute contraindications

• Untreated pneumothorax

• Certain medications such as Bleomycin, Disulfiram Cisplatin
  and Sulfamilon (1)

 

Relative Contraindications

• Claustrophobia

• Asthma

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Pregnancy

• congenital spherocytosis

• upper respiratory tract infection

• Eustachian tube dysfunction

• Fever

• Pacemaker

• Seizures/Epilepsy

 

complications

When used in standard protocols, the mHBOT is safe. In our office, we do not allow pressure to rise above 1.3 ATA, which provides a very safe and comfortable environment for most patients. If not, we remove it from the chamber and alter our protocol for treatment. At these levels, patients could behave as if they were in the comfort of home, as seen in high-performance athletes. The most common complication during mHBOT is barotrauma (pressure injury resulting from an inability to equalize the pressure of an air-containing space and the surrounding environment), usually of the middle ear. The development of reversible myopia and the opacity of pre-existing cataracts are other rare complications of mHBOT. We take as many precautions as possible so you don't experience any of these complications, and since these are much lower level chambers than hospital settings, there is minimal risk.

 

References

(1) Sahni T, Hukku S, Jain M, Prasad A, Prasad R, Singh K. Recent advances in hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Medication update. Assoc Physicians India. 2004;14:632–9. [Academic google]

(2) Bhutani et al. Hyperbaric oxygen and wound healing. Indian JPlast Surg. 2012 May-August; 45(2) 316-324.

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