Explosions from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bombs, breaching blasts, large-caliber weapons fire and even repeated small-arms fire produce blast waves that affect the brain and other internal organs. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) events have become common in the military and veteran communities over the last 20 years of sustained combat operations, leading to a huge increase in diagnoses of Operator Syndrome and post-traumatic stress (PTS).

USMC photo by  Photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel E. Valle

When faced with these conditions, many veterans experience severe pain, reduced cognitive function and an inability to sleep, stay focused or hold coherent conversations. They can suffer other personality issues, problems with coordinated movement and disruption to visual, hearing or speaking functions. 

In essence, trauma can cause the brain to work differently than it did before the blast or concussive event. This can change the personality of a person with TBI in ways that make it difficult for family, friends and even themselves to recognize the person they knew. 

I’ve had discussions with friends undergoing Department of Veterans Affairs-prescribed treatments with a dozen or more prescription drugs to help with the pain and disrupted hormone levels. I also have found several veterans who tried special treatment using nothing but oxygen under pressure. Like our Draeger dives in the SEAL teams (pure oxygen under pressure with no bubbles), the hyperbaric chamber oxygen treatment (HBOT) is a natural way to help with healing that uses techniques familiar to many in the diving community. 

HBOT has been a saving grace for the more than 100 veterans sponsored by the nonprofit America’s Mighty Warriors (AMW). The organization is the common denominator between several of my friends who have received the specialized treatment.  

About America’s Mighty Warriors 

America’s Mighty Warriors was created by Gold Star mother Debbie Lee as a tribute to her son, Navy SEAL Marc Lee, who was killed in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006. The organization helps other Gold Star families with retreats and counseling, and the group has created a community for veterans who need help with addiction, pain and PTS or TBI conditions. The program pays for veterans to receive HBOT in clinics around the country. Read the testimonials from veterans who have received the therapy, but do your research too.

If you are at a point where other treatments are not helping, start your journey on HBOT by reading HBOT therapy pioneer Dr. Paul Harch’s book “The Oxygen Revolution: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Breakthrough in Gene Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury and Other Disorders.” See more about Dr. Paul Harch in this interview:   

SEAL Testimonial from a friend of mine for over 20 years: 

HBOT is nothing new. The diving community and the Defense Department have been treating diving accidents for decades with chamber therapy. In fact, the technique has been around for more than 300 years, and the Mayo Clinic states that HBOT can be used to treat a variety of medical conditions that require more oxygen:

Severe anemia
Brain abscess
Bubbles of air in your blood vessels (arterial gas embolism)
Burns
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Crushing injury
Deafness, sudden
Decompression sickness
Gangrene
Infection of skin or bone that causes tissue death
Non-healing wounds, such as a diabetic foot ulcer
Radiation injury
Skin graft or skin flap at risk of tissue death
Traumatic brain injury
Sudden vision loss

How HBOT Works 

HBOT corrects oxygen deficiencies in the body by using the increased partial pressure of oxygen to stimulate genes to code for growth and repair hormones that then repair wounds in the body. Speaking specifically about veterans (and football players), the same growth and repair hormones can help repair traumatic brain injuries when introduced to more oxygen. 

“Damaged cells start working better, growth and repair hormones are elaborated, and you grow new tissue,” Harch says about the treatment.

West Point Grad / Army Officer Experiences TBI and HBOT Therapy

See full video with Iraq veteran Maj. Ben Richards. Richards describes how HBOT helped him recover from two TBI events after a long journey that included drugs with known suicidal side effects that were prescribed by the VA. 

Treatment consists of 40 one-hour “dives’’ in a hyperbaric chamber filled with 100% oxygen that then is pressurized to 1.5 atmospheres. There are different protocols depending on whether the ailment such as foot wound healing or carbon monoxide poisoning. The introduction of the extra oxygen into the brain initiates the creation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and the repair or regrowth of brain cells. 

The before-and-after SPECT scans help show the difference after 40 dives. Comments from the patients undergoing this therapy range from “life-changing” to “this saved my life.” SPECT scans are single-photon emission computed tomography and monitor the level of biological activity in the 3-D region it scans. 

See the before and after pictures below:  

Some Controversy in HBOT (VA and DoD Acceptance)

Even though many reputable medical programs and doctors have approved the uses for HBOT therapy as listed above, the Defense Department and VA are not currently approving the treatment. Veterans who are receiving this treatment are doing it at their own expense or with special programs like America’s Mighty Warriors, even though there has been both political and scientific persuasion to change the policy. 

There are competing studies and evidence that claim to disprove the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen treatment. See TBI Specialist Dr. David Cifu from the VA study on HBOT. 

My conclusions are offered as a non-medical professional who has made active duty and veteran health and wellness my platform. “Chamber rides” as we called them, use oxygen as the drug and are natural to the healing process. 

What is NOT natural is countless prescriptions (many with side effects of potential “suicidal thoughts”). These are not the long-term answer to healing or even treating the multiple symptoms of TBI, PTS or the newly coined condition Operator Syndrome. 

Given the changes in people’s lives I have personally witnessed and the countless more I have read about during the research of this article, we should do more for our veterans and thoroughly test to learn if HBOT works as a long-term solution or not not dismiss it as a sham. 

Sources:

America’s Mighty Warriors

Stand By Our Troops – Debate with Dr Harch and VA Doctors

Mayo Clinic

Study – Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment in TBI - Harch

Medical / Legal Disclaimer
“The information provided does not constitute a medical recommendation because I, Stew Smith am not a medical professional - just reporting on options to treatment available to veterans. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Please consult with your primary care physician for a detailed medical evaluation of your personal and specific health needs and recommendations.”

Additional Discussion About HBOT with Wes Irvin

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Tactical Fitness Programming Store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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