Just a few months ago, Joe Namath was my guest at the Sears Institute. He spoke about his experience with a cutting-edge therapy that saved him from traumatic brain injury after years of being battered on the football field.
Before-and-after scans show how effective this “alternative” therapy is.
I’ve been using this alternative approach in my clinic for years, and have seen first-hand how it can change the lives of my patients.
Mainstream medicine has historically treated traumatic brain injury, also called TBI, with a long list of drugs… everything from anti-anxiety drugs to anti-psychotic drugs to sedatives. These drugs can end up doing more damage to your brain and health.
But in a new twist, the state of Florida — where I practice medicine — just passed a bill that provides our veterans access to this same breakthrough therapy that helped Joe recover his “missing memories.”
The bill, titled Alternative Treatment Options for Veterans, was signed into law last month by the governor.
It allows our brave men and women suffering from brain injuries and damage access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT.
While mainstream medicine has lagged behind, I’m thrilled to see that our veterans will now have access to this healing therapy.
Like Captain Matthew Smothermon.
It was his job to find and destroy IEDs in Afghanistan. On one mission, his vehicle was struck by three large IEDs. His injuries were severe.
He describes the experience this way:
“One day I woke up, but my brain didn’t… I had severe lapses in cognition. I could barely read and my hopes and dreams of going to law school were dashed.
“As the full reality of my TBI came to light, I began a slow spiral into depression. I was a shadow of my former self.”
That was before Captain Smothermon had HBOT therapy.
Here’s what he says now:
“Today, I can say that I have recovered from the TBI that fundamentally changed my life. I’ve seen the data from my cognitive test results, and I know this is true. But nothing comes close to seeing your wife, a full year after you have returned from war, look at you with tears in her eyes and tell you, ‘It’s good to have you back.’”
It’s a positive step that my home state has taken passing a bill that will allow more vets to get the help they need.
If you’re a regular reader, you know by now that HBOT is the delivery of high-pressure oxygen to your body. At my clinic, I treat patients with 100% oxygen at two times the normal atmospheric pressure.
You see, HBOT works because it infuses your body with oxygen. It increases oxygen levels in your red blood cells, encouraging the healing and regeneration of tissues, blood vessels and nerves.
With HBOT, your lungs take in more oxygen than would be possible if you were breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.
The combination of pressure and oxygen, physically dissolves more oxygen into your red blood cells, boosting oxygen levels and encouraging healing and regeneration. Studies show breathing pressurized oxygen also stimulates the release of growth factors and stem cells. This also promotes healing and gets the cells working again.
I’ve seen how HBOT changes the lives of patients with Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s.
A study at Tel Aviv University in Israel, doctors used HBOT on 74 patients suffering from paralysis years after a stroke. Two months later, every patient reported significant improvement… They recovered from paralysis, were able to speak again and had an increase in sensation. Brain scans showed increased neuronal activity.1
Another study showed that HBOT boosts brain neuroplasticity after a stroke. That’s your brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new white matter connections that bypass and find their way through the roadblocks created by the lesions.
And studies prove these connections can still be re-formed and activated years after a stroke has taken place.2
To Learn More about HBOT…
If you want to learn how HBOT can help you or your loved one — or just have questions about this life-changing therapy — please call the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine at 561-410-7854. My staff is more than happy to take your call.
Or, if you are in the South Florida area or plan to visit in the future, consider scheduling a consultation.
My staff would be happy to show you around our beautiful facility. You can schedule an appointment by calling the above number, or by visiting my website at www.searsinstitute.com.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Efrati S, et al. “Hyperbaric oxygen induces late neuroplasticity in post stroke patients – randomized, prospective trial.” PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53716.
2. Wahl AS and Schwab ME. “Finding an optimal rehabilitation paradigm after stroke: Enhancing fiber growth and training of the brain at the right moment.” Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:381.