Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

HBOT is treatment that is provided when a patient sits inside a chamber, under pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure (for neurological conditions, this is typically one-half atmospheres above ambient pressure) and patients breathe 100% medical oxygen. Typical treatment time spent in the chamber for recovery from TBI is one hour under pressure per session.

A minimum of 40 sessions (called dives) are required for mild TBI brain recovery. 80 sessions provide “full reset” of the brain i.e. revert to pre-injury status. As more than 2000 intracellular processes are oxygen dependent this treatment provides energy to the cells and is the basis for biological healing. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy delivers 100% medical grade oxygen under pressure to promote healing combined with other therapeutic modalities to get your best outcome.

Burn Pit (an area in military sites devoted to open air combustion of military waste) Exposure is increasingly recognized as a significantly aggravating factor exacerbating the symptoms of TBI with associated PTSD. Veterans exposed to burn pit toxins will be treated with HBOT and adjunctive therapies (IV Therapy, supplements and Infrared sauna), which will help in making HBOT treatment more effective.

Dr Carol Henricks is the Neurologist and Director of NorthStar Hyperbarics

Dr. Carol Henricks, nationally respected neurologist on Traumatic Brain Injury and the owner/operator of NorthStar Neurology in Tucson, has had a substantial success record of treating veterans with TBI/PTSD.

How does HBOT work?

The patient spends approximately one hour per session in a hyperbaric chamber, breathing pure oxygen under pressure which saturates the body’s tissues and reaches damaged areas that had lacked blood supply and oxygen. With repeated treatments, the oxygen flow stimulates the body’s healing process thus allowing most patients to experience rapid recovery of cognitive and neurological functioning without surgery or drugs.