Hyperbaric Oxygen Relieves Migraine Headaches
Migraines are a neurological condition that can cause pain, not just in the head, but also other areas of the body. Studies show that hyperbaric oxygen often relieves active headaches and migraines.
Migraines are a neurological condition that can cause pain, not just in the head, but also other areas of the body. Studies show that hyperbaric oxygen often relieves active headaches and migraines.
How Hyperbarics Helps
Opens blood vessels to increase blood supply
Builds new blood vessels
Decreases inflammation
Increases oxygen carried in blood plasma, enabling more oxygen to reach the brain and body
Studies have shown that hyperbaric oxygen proves useful in relieving active headaches, where oxygen by itself tends to not provide relief.
We know how debilitating migraine headaches can be. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a natural treatment for these and other types of headaches, including cluster headaches.
Migraines cripple up to 35 million people in the US, preventing those of us with such headaches from working, caring for families, cooking, driving and engaging in vital parts of our lives.
Migraines are thought to be a neurological condition that can cause pain, not just in the head, but also other areas of the body, such as the intestines. Migraines often come with debilitating symptoms, including severe headache pain, vision disturbances, sensitivity to light, stomach pain, vomiting, loss of appetite, chills, sweating, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, facial pain, difficulty speaking and weakness. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy both relieves these symptoms and helps decrease the intensity and frequency of such headaches.
How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy eliminate migraine headaches? Normal room air has 21% oxygen. In our hyperbaric chambers, patients receive 100% oxygen while under increased atmospheric pressure. This combination of high oxygen concentrations and pressure from the hyperbaric chamber causes oxygen to dissolve into the patient's plasma, where it then migrates to areas of the brain and body that are deprived of life-giving oxygen. In our experience, patients with an acute migraine typically resolve within one treatment. However, there are patients who have additional intervening neurological problems who sometimes need additional interventions to treat stubborn migraines.
Some patients ask if oxygen by itself can help eliminate migraines. Sadly, it does not. Studies show that hyperbaric oxygen does prove effective in eliminating migraine headaches and cluster headaches, whereas oxygen by itself does not provide such relief.
HBOT is approved and used by providers throughout California to heal many conditions naturally and painlessly, including migraines. If you are interested in using HBOT, or know of someone we might be able to help, please call us to discuss whether HBOT might be a possible solution to the pain.
Patient Experiences
Listen to what real patients have to say about their experiences.
-
Lisa, 67
HBOT reduced migraines from one per week to one or two per year.
Plagued with Migraine headaches since her early 50’s, Lisa had to take medication on average twice per week to ward off her migraines. Her physician told her that if she did not use her medication, complications, such as blindness, could arise. Often, her migraines required two days to recover, even with medication, during which time they would diminish her ability to focus at work. After hyperbarics for an early childhood concussion (60 treatments at 2.0 ATA), her migraines virtually ceased. She is now down to two episodes per year instead of two per week, and only renews her prescription once per year instead of every two weeks. Lisa points out that nothing changed in her life that could have caused the improvement, other than hyperbarics.
-
Jim, 58
His Physician recommended Hyperbarics, which eliminated 90% of his migraines.
Jim had migraine headaches on average every six weeks, each of which lasted three to five days and left him unable to work. He had to lie quietly in a dark room, and even medication at times did not work. His physician prescribed hyperbaric oxygen therapy, saying “it can’t hurt, and some patients tell me it helps.” During his treatment protocol of 60 sessions, he did not have any migraines. Moreover, he did not have any migraines for a full year after having stopped. When we checked back two years later, he had been mostly pain free for those two years. Contrast this with losing a week of productive living every six weeks before hyperbarics.
-
Priya, 38
Though treated for Fibromyalgia, hyperbarics also eliminated her headaches
Priya was a mother of two, who loved playing with her kids. She was being treated for Fibromyalgia, which hyperbarics helped treat. The nice side-effect was that hyperbaric oxygen therapy eliminated her recurrent headaches throughout her treatment and decreased their occurance for over a year after treatment. What a nice side-effect!
Patients: Get Started with Hyperbarics
Its easy to get started with Hyperbarics. Just follow these simple steps.
1
Give us a call
Did a physician refer you? If so, they can download and fax us back a patient referral form. If not, our medical staff will discuss whether hyperbarics is right for you.
2
We talk with your insurance
Our medical staff contacts Medicare or private insurance to receive authorization and create a plan with you.
3
You get on the road to recovery
We do a medical intake, explain everything you need to know, and you get started on your hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions.
Physicians: Refer a Patient
Refer a patient in three easy steps.
1
You submit patient’s information
As a provider, your office fills out and faxes back the Patient Referral Form. Have questions? Call us!
2
We get authorizations
We make sure the patient understands treatment and then follow the prescribed protocol to get the patient on the road to recovery!
3
Patient starts HBOT
Our medical staff meets with the patient to ensure that HBOT is appropriatre, and contacts Medicare or private insurance to receive authorization.
Related Articles
Check out the following articles, which may also be relevant to your search
Still looking for answers?
We're here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how hyperbaric oxygen therapy can help you.
-
What is Hyperbaric Medicine?
Hyperbaric medicine, also called hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT, is a medical treatment where a patient sits or lies in pressurized chamber and breathes 100% oxygen. In HBOT, oxygen dissolves into the blood, thus raising the oxygen concentration to very high levels.This increased oxygen is a primary building block for tissues, muscle, and bone repair. Among other benefits, it kicks off cell reproduction, heals injuries and infection more rapidly, and decreases inflammation.
-
Does HBOT kill cancer cells?
Current research indicates that hyperbaric oxygen does not kill cancer cells. However, there has been a small amount of research indicating that hyperbaric oxygen might reduce the size of certain tumors. Also, there has been a study on mice using hyperbaric oxygen, along with a ketogenic diet, to reduce tumors. Hyperbaric oxygen causes many different healing modalities to kick into gear. Could its effect on strengthening the immune system inhibit the growth of cancer cells? Nobody knows. There are numerous studies conclusively showing that hyperbaric oxygen does not encourage cancer cells or tumors to grow. Some patients claim the hyperbaric oxygen makes them feel a lot more comfortable and functional after chemotherapy and also during healing. Note that some chemotherapy drugs are not to be used with hyperbaric oxygen, as the chemotherapy drugs can be enhanced and thus become toxic. A good hyperbaric oxygen facility (such as Bay Area Hyperbarics) will always call the chemotherapy manufacturer to ensure that hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be helpful and not damaging to the patient.
-
What is the CPT code for HBOT?
The CPT code for HBOT is G0277.
-
Does Medicare cover HBOT?
Medicare covers Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for approved conditions, and many insurance companies also cover approved conditions. If your condition is not approved by your insurance, we can discuss our special rates. Give us a call at (408) 356–7438. We are happy to discuss your options with you.
-
Can HBOT help Neuropathy?
Hyperbaric treatments help heal neuropathy by regrowing small blood vessels and nerves that have died from disease, injuries from radiation and aging. Patients often experience numbness and or pain when they start treatment. Hyperbaric treatments most often bring back sensation and make, for example, walking easier and more enjoyable.
-
Why would a physician consider HBOT?
A physician would consider using hyperbaric chamber therapy under a variety of situations. Physicians most typically refer patients to hyperbarics when the patient is not healing with traditional medical interventions and hyperbaric chamber therapy is approved by Medicare for this condition. Some patients experience significant unresolved pain and unremitting disease states that the mechanisms of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a hyperbaric chamber are known to affect, such as the down regulation of inflamatory genes. For an example, some patients have experienced severe, unremitting hives with itching, which did not improve with any specialists interventions. Some physicians will consider hyperbaric chamber therapy if the patient has no other good avenues for improving their failing health, and they know the hyperbaric chamber therapy is safe and will not harm the patient.
-
What is Hypebaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HB0T) is a medical treatment where you inhale 100% oxygen in a chamber with increased atmospheric pressure. HBOT injects 400x the oxygen into your tissues and bones and mobilizes stem cells. It regrows healthy tissues in the brain, blood vessels, skin and bones. It also reduces pain and swelling, and speeds recovery. It is simple, effective and painless.