HBOT for Concussions
Dr. Stella Parks
When you’re under pressure and breathing oxygen, the oxygen you breathe can get to places that are hard to reach, bringing a rush of nutrients into the brain. These nutrients help the brain to heal, reducing inflammation and creating new neural pathways within the brain’s structure that improve memory, executive functioning, and motor skills. This whole process increases the brain’s overall ability to heal, even years after the concussion takes place.
How HBOT helps concussions:
Reduces edema:
Cerebral edema forms directly after a concussive event, and causes memory impairment, disorientation, and headaches. The edema creates pressure that robs the area of proper oxygenation. HBOT constricts the damaged blood vessels, removing the primary source of the edema.
Increases Oxygen in brain tissue:
After a concussive event, damaged blood vessels are inefficient at transporting oxygenated blood to the brain. HBOT dissolves a higher than normal concentration of oxygen molecules into the blood and surrounding tissues. This higher oxygen content supports the tissues as your body recovers.
Stimulates growth of new blood vessels:
After a concussive event, the body begins to build new blood vessels to replace the damaged ones. HBOT increases your body’s cellular energy (ATP), boosting its ability to produce blood vessels at a faster rate.
Stimulates regeneration of nerve fibers:
After a concussive event, the body begins to build new blood vessels to replace the damaged ones. HBOT increases your body’s cellular energy (ATP), boosting its ability to produce blood vessels at a faster rate.
Why am I having brain fog?
Suboptimal Pathways
Damage from a concussion causes inflammation that limits the amount of oxygen going to certain parts of your brain. When the part of your brain with limited oxygen needs to function for a task and can’t — for example, to remember where you left your keys —other neural pathways will take over to compensate. You can think of this as a road detour; when one route is blocked, your brain takes a slower, less direct route to the same destination. Though it may feel like your brain fog will last forever, combining HBOT, rest, red light therapy, and activity can support and accelerate your brain’s return to more efficient signaling pathways.
The Pieces to a strong recovery:
Combining all four pieces is vital to successful recovery from a concussion. HBOT saturates the body with oxygen, acting as a fuel. Rest allows the body to recover from strain and helps reconnect neurons. Red light therapy energizes mitochondria, creating more ATP (cellular energy). Activity increases blood flow, utilizing the fuel for faster healing.
“I was in two serious rear-ended car accidents in two months and I had a severe concussion each time. I felt a fogginess and short term memory loss. After six sessions I noticed that I was completing tasks calmly and thoroughly. Becoming “overwhelmed” does not exist for me anymore. I am so grateful to Delaware Hyperbarics, I feel mentally twenty years younger.”
Quote from Lisa W., Lewes, DE
Contact Us For An Appointment