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Jenks Health Team - Family Medicine |
Combining New Technologies with the Expertise and Safety of Traditional Medicine |
Jenks Health Team, 715 West Main Street, Suite K, Jenks, Oklahoma 74037 Hyperbaric Department: 918-299-2658, HBOT Fax 918-299-2693 Email: jenkshealthteam@yahoo.com, www.jenkshealthteam.com |
Wounded Warriors Help for PTSD and TBI |
Assisting our Nation's Heroes with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Healing with High Levels of Oxygen Hyperbaric oxygen therapy utilizes a submarine-like vessel to safely pressurize the occupant while providing pure oxygen for breathing. Why Increased Pressure? Oxygen is essential for the proper functioning of every cell in the body. Increased pressure in the hyperbaric chamber provides high levels of oxygen throughout the body, stimulating repair and growth of new tissue relating to wounds as well as brain tissue. Mechanisms of Repair with HBOT ~Repair of damaged/leaky blood vessels. ~Reduced swelling within the skull. ~Elimination of toxin buildup. ~Stimulating normal brain activity. ~Prompting growth of new blood vessels to maintain on-going healthy brain function. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) A Physical Injury to the Brain Affecting Mental/Emotional Outcomes The effect of TBI's, resulting in a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Dysfunction (PTSD) are an expected outcome of the concussive effects of modern warfare. Just one head impact or IED exploding nearby, with or without loss of consciousness, has been known to cause brain injury. Many soldiers have experienced many such concussive events. About PTSD PTSD is a condition where a competent person losses the ability to function or cope in previously mastered areas of life. This initially shows up as inabilities to adjust to civilian life and its' closest relationships. PTSD Can Include the Following: ~Cognitive Loss: Decline in the ability to thinking or reason, memory loss (short or long term), perception or decreased ability to learn. ~Emotional Instability: Sleeplessness, depression, mood swings, rage, suicidal, homicidal tendencies. ~Mental Disturbance: Intense preoccupation or fear with the unseen, sometimes haunted by images, voices or bad memories. SPECT Brain Scan Shown are two frontal 3D SPECT images of a patient experiencing devastating loss of physical, emotional and mental health due to a traumatic head injury. |
Before HBOT |
After HBOT |
The left scan image: taken before HBOT, appears to have areas missing, representing areas of insufficient blood flow with corresponding loss of brain function. |
The right scan image: taken after HBOT, has a smooth fullness indicating restored blood flow with the associated restored brain activity. |
Restored Brain Function Quality of life improved in the following areas following HBOT: ~Temper tantrums and mood swings greatly reduced. ~Improved balance following injury related paralysis. ~Marked recovery of physical endurance. ~Regained substantial ability to read and write. Assisting our Nations' Heroes According to the Rand Report (Invisible Wounds of War, 4/2008) as many as 660,000 of the 1.5 million United States servicemen and women sent to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 have incurred and are now suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or combinations of all three. The consequences of these disorders are significant and include marital discord, unemployment, societal dysfunction, violence upon family members and loved ones, alcohol and drug abuse, criminal activity, and 15 suicides/day, the highest of any U.S. military conflict in history. In addition, these men and women are no longer fit for duty and are discharged from the military for a variety of reasons or medically boarded out of the military. The loss of experience and intellectual capital is expected to compromise the future of our voluntary military. The fact that there is no effective treatment for TBI and partially effective treatment for PTSD contributes to the despair of these individuals, but also severely compromises recruitment efforts, the lifeblood of the military. Qualifying Criteria for Treatment ~Skeletal or joint related injury ~Had experienced mild to severe TBI ~TBI initiated PTSD ~Non TBI related PTSD ~Chemical dependency Disqualifying Criteria ~Dependency on critical life support ~Pregnancy ~Untreated Pneumothorax |