Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is defined as the use of oxygen at higher than atmospheric pressure for the treatment of underlying disease processes and the diseases they produce. Modern HBOT in which 100% O2 is breathed in a pressurized chamber dates back to the 1930s, when it was first used for treatment of decompression illness in divers. There are currently 13 FDA-approved uses for HBOT, including decompression illness, gas gangrene, air embolism, osteomyelitis, radiation necrosis, and the most recent addition—diabetic ulcers.
Just as practicing physicians routinely identify off-label uses for medications, over the years HBOT physicians have identified many other conditions that respond to HBOT. A number of chronic neurological conditions including traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been shown to respond particularly well. There is published literature supporting HBOT’s efficacy for TBI, including human trials and animal research, but due to the impossibility of arranging sham pressure there are no rigorous double-blind placebo-controlled trials.1 As a result, HBOT is not FDA-approved for TBI, and insurance will generally not pay for it.
HBOT can dramatically and permanently improve symptoms of chronic TBI months or even many years after the original head injury. This assertion is generally met with skepticism within the medical establishment because we have been taught for generations that any post-concussion symptoms persisting more than 6 months or so after a head injury are due to permanent brain damage that cannot be repaired. Therefore, treatment has been limited to symptom management and rehabilitative services, and any claim suggesting that fundamental healing is possible is suspect. The combination of entrenched skepticism and lack of insurance coverage has made it very difficult for patients to access treatment.
Another source of skepticism has been the large number of disparate conditions that are claimed to be helped by HBOT. A brief review of the mechanisms through which HBOT triggers healing responses, with particular reference to the modern understanding of the pathophysiology of TBI, provides a theoretical framework to explain these claims.
Goderez (2019). Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury With Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Psychiatric Times, Vol:36 Issue:5. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/tbi/treatment-traumatic-brain-injury-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy