In 2014 there was a patient I had been seeing on ACC for a bad concussion - traumatic brain injury (TBI).
We were making progress with the treatment, but it was slow. I did not see her for a month and when she returned she looked SO much better - her eyes were brighter, her speech was clearer and her headaches had considerably reduced.
I asked her what she had done and she said she had been having QRS PEMF (Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Fields) and HBOT at the hyperbaric chambers at Health Evolution up on the Kapiti Coast. I did not know much about hyperbarics and initially thought it had to do with oxygen levels and something to do with 'the bends'. Then when I researched it I realised it was to do with increasing the pressure around and through the body which reduced the swelling around the damaged neurons in her brain. She also had oxygen supplied via a cannula so had an increased level of oxygen dissolved in her blood plasma and crossing the blood brain barrier to help the nerve cells in the brain, to get going again. This was interesting and I wondered if it could help other patients.
With a very busy work schedule, I arranged well ahead to visit Health Evolution. Then on the day of the visit I happened to be recovering from a gastro virus, feeling a bit weak I asked to sit down, Hayley Brown suggested I go in the hyperbaric chamber instead. I didn't know what to expect but the lie down was welcome. As the pressure increased I had been told to swallow alot to clear my ears and I breathed oxygen easily through a cannula. After about 20 minutes at 1.3ATA pressure I could feel 'squiggles' going on in my abdomen and shortly after, I suddenly started to feel better. I felt better and better and by the time I came out of the chamber I felt great, no more weakness, I was back to full strength and vitality. This change lasted, I did not return to my pre-chamber tummy trouble state.
So I researched some more, trained as a mild hyperbaric technician and decided to invest in some chambers for our practice, with the plan being to reduce suffering for more people. I had already seen it work on a chronic brain injury and experienced it help an acute gut inflammation.
Our chambers arrived September 2015. After set up and comprehensive staff training, we have been helping patients fully recover from head injury, prepare for surgery, improve gut function and get positive changes in long term neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Stroke.
City Osteopaths HBOT/Hyperbaric Chamber Guide
1) Our chambers:
Our hard chambers are made of Aluminium and go to up to 1.5ATA, which is like being 5 metres under the sea. With our special ten litre oxygen concentrators, we are able to provide around 93% oxygen into the cannula. We use non-PVC tubing for oxygen delivery to optimise the experience for the patient. Calculations show that with 60-93% O2 breathed in at 1.5ATA we are potentially able to increase the oxygenation saturation in the patient's blood plasma and tissues by 400-700%.
2) How many sessions will I need?
Acute injuries usually respond quickly to HBOT and may only need one or two sessions.
Chronic medical problems will take longer and the patient and care givers need to be prepared to commit to a course of treatment. Packages are available in either 10, 20 or 40 sessions to decrease the cost to the patient. These need to be used concurrently, ideally a daily session five days a week for 2, 4 or 8 weeks.
Pre-surgery one session is recommended to prepare the body and post-surgery at least one session is recommended to aid rapid recovery.
For cancer treatment in conjunction with chemo or radiation 90 minute sessions are recommended.
For wound healing such as injury to ligaments and discs 90 minute sessions are recommended.
For Gut disorders such as IBS, 60 minutes should be sufficient , however in Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns then 90 minutes is recommended.
For brain injury such as concussion or stroke, 60 to 90 minute 1.5 ATA sessions are recommended. If the patient cannot manage 1.5ATA and is at a lower pressure (ie 1.3ATA) then 90 minute sessions are recommended. If the trauma occurred months or years ago then a longer course of treatment will be required.
Once a person has had a course of treatments and achieved improvement in their symptoms then their system is ‘primed’ so will respond more quickly to future sessions and research has shown that maintenance treatments spread out over time are very beneficial for patients to continue their recovery.
HBOT Mechanisms of Action:
1) Reduces swelling and inflammation due to the action of the pressure on the whole body
2) Stimulates angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels)
3) Assists in preservation of tissue when there has been an injury
4) Mobilises and stimulates an increase in stem cells within damaged tissue and in bone marrow
5) Combats viral or bacterial infections, potentiates antibiotics
7) Enhances mitochondrial recovery, cellular metabolism : ATP
8)The plasma is able to carry oxygen to small spaces that the red blood cells are not able to reach.
9) In cancer, it provides the reactive oxygen species required for chemo or radiotherapy to work.
10) With rapidly oxygenated tissue like the CNS and the GUT the tissues will reach full saturation more quickly.
How do I get to use the chamber?
Before a patient may use the hyperbaric chamber, one of our Registered Osteopaths or Registered Acupuncturists needs to do a Medical HBOT Assessment. This involves a medical history, a physical examination including blood pressure check and ear check with otoscope, to ensure your suitability for the chamber. Then the practitioner in consultation with our Director, will determine a suitable plan of care and mat and chamber protocol for each patient. Cost of this is $73.00.
Session times are:
8 am (60 minutes) 12.30 pm (60 minutes)
9.30 am (90 minutes) 1.30 pm (90 minutes)
11.15am (60 minutes) 3.15 pm and 4.30pm (both 60 minutes)
Cost of treatment:
(Note: The cost of QRS mat treatment is included in the chamber cost)
One off HBOT chamber visit is $120 for 90 minutes
For 10 sessions the charge is $115 for 90 minutes, total is $1150
For 20 sessions the charge is $97 for 90 minutes, total is $1940
For 40 sessions the charge is $82 for 90 minutes, total is $3280
One off HBOT chamber visit is $90 for 60 minutes
For 10 sessions the charge is $87 for 60 minutes, total is $870
For 20 sessions the charge is $84 for 60 minutes, total is $1680
For 40 sessions the charge is $78 for 60 minutes, total is $3120
What does the QRS mat treatment cost on its own?
For 8 minutes it is $14
For 16 minutes it is $22
For 24 minutes it is $30
In cases of sincere financial need give us a call and we will see what we can do.
For more information please see our webpages or check out http://www.healthevolution.co.nz/
More research coming soon.
We were making progress with the treatment, but it was slow. I did not see her for a month and when she returned she looked SO much better - her eyes were brighter, her speech was clearer and her headaches had considerably reduced.
I asked her what she had done and she said she had been having QRS PEMF (Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Fields) and HBOT at the hyperbaric chambers at Health Evolution up on the Kapiti Coast. I did not know much about hyperbarics and initially thought it had to do with oxygen levels and something to do with 'the bends'. Then when I researched it I realised it was to do with increasing the pressure around and through the body which reduced the swelling around the damaged neurons in her brain. She also had oxygen supplied via a cannula so had an increased level of oxygen dissolved in her blood plasma and crossing the blood brain barrier to help the nerve cells in the brain, to get going again. This was interesting and I wondered if it could help other patients.
With a very busy work schedule, I arranged well ahead to visit Health Evolution. Then on the day of the visit I happened to be recovering from a gastro virus, feeling a bit weak I asked to sit down, Hayley Brown suggested I go in the hyperbaric chamber instead. I didn't know what to expect but the lie down was welcome. As the pressure increased I had been told to swallow alot to clear my ears and I breathed oxygen easily through a cannula. After about 20 minutes at 1.3ATA pressure I could feel 'squiggles' going on in my abdomen and shortly after, I suddenly started to feel better. I felt better and better and by the time I came out of the chamber I felt great, no more weakness, I was back to full strength and vitality. This change lasted, I did not return to my pre-chamber tummy trouble state.
So I researched some more, trained as a mild hyperbaric technician and decided to invest in some chambers for our practice, with the plan being to reduce suffering for more people. I had already seen it work on a chronic brain injury and experienced it help an acute gut inflammation.
Our chambers arrived September 2015. After set up and comprehensive staff training, we have been helping patients fully recover from head injury, prepare for surgery, improve gut function and get positive changes in long term neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Stroke.
City Osteopaths HBOT/Hyperbaric Chamber Guide
1) Our chambers:
Our hard chambers are made of Aluminium and go to up to 1.5ATA, which is like being 5 metres under the sea. With our special ten litre oxygen concentrators, we are able to provide around 93% oxygen into the cannula. We use non-PVC tubing for oxygen delivery to optimise the experience for the patient. Calculations show that with 60-93% O2 breathed in at 1.5ATA we are potentially able to increase the oxygenation saturation in the patient's blood plasma and tissues by 400-700%.
2) How many sessions will I need?
Acute injuries usually respond quickly to HBOT and may only need one or two sessions.
Chronic medical problems will take longer and the patient and care givers need to be prepared to commit to a course of treatment. Packages are available in either 10, 20 or 40 sessions to decrease the cost to the patient. These need to be used concurrently, ideally a daily session five days a week for 2, 4 or 8 weeks.
Pre-surgery one session is recommended to prepare the body and post-surgery at least one session is recommended to aid rapid recovery.
For cancer treatment in conjunction with chemo or radiation 90 minute sessions are recommended.
For wound healing such as injury to ligaments and discs 90 minute sessions are recommended.
For Gut disorders such as IBS, 60 minutes should be sufficient , however in Ulcerative Colitis or Crohns then 90 minutes is recommended.
For brain injury such as concussion or stroke, 60 to 90 minute 1.5 ATA sessions are recommended. If the patient cannot manage 1.5ATA and is at a lower pressure (ie 1.3ATA) then 90 minute sessions are recommended. If the trauma occurred months or years ago then a longer course of treatment will be required.
Once a person has had a course of treatments and achieved improvement in their symptoms then their system is ‘primed’ so will respond more quickly to future sessions and research has shown that maintenance treatments spread out over time are very beneficial for patients to continue their recovery.
HBOT Mechanisms of Action:
1) Reduces swelling and inflammation due to the action of the pressure on the whole body
2) Stimulates angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels)
3) Assists in preservation of tissue when there has been an injury
4) Mobilises and stimulates an increase in stem cells within damaged tissue and in bone marrow
5) Combats viral or bacterial infections, potentiates antibiotics
7) Enhances mitochondrial recovery, cellular metabolism : ATP
8)The plasma is able to carry oxygen to small spaces that the red blood cells are not able to reach.
9) In cancer, it provides the reactive oxygen species required for chemo or radiotherapy to work.
10) With rapidly oxygenated tissue like the CNS and the GUT the tissues will reach full saturation more quickly.
How do I get to use the chamber?
Before a patient may use the hyperbaric chamber, one of our Registered Osteopaths or Registered Acupuncturists needs to do a Medical HBOT Assessment. This involves a medical history, a physical examination including blood pressure check and ear check with otoscope, to ensure your suitability for the chamber. Then the practitioner in consultation with our Director, will determine a suitable plan of care and mat and chamber protocol for each patient. Cost of this is $73.00.
Session times are:
8 am (60 minutes) 12.30 pm (60 minutes)
9.30 am (90 minutes) 1.30 pm (90 minutes)
11.15am (60 minutes) 3.15 pm and 4.30pm (both 60 minutes)
Cost of treatment:
(Note: The cost of QRS mat treatment is included in the chamber cost)
One off HBOT chamber visit is $120 for 90 minutes
For 10 sessions the charge is $115 for 90 minutes, total is $1150
For 20 sessions the charge is $97 for 90 minutes, total is $1940
For 40 sessions the charge is $82 for 90 minutes, total is $3280
One off HBOT chamber visit is $90 for 60 minutes
For 10 sessions the charge is $87 for 60 minutes, total is $870
For 20 sessions the charge is $84 for 60 minutes, total is $1680
For 40 sessions the charge is $78 for 60 minutes, total is $3120
What does the QRS mat treatment cost on its own?
For 8 minutes it is $14
For 16 minutes it is $22
For 24 minutes it is $30
In cases of sincere financial need give us a call and we will see what we can do.
For more information please see our webpages or check out http://www.healthevolution.co.nz/
More research coming soon.
Melanie Young
Registered Osteopath
B.App.Sc.,(Clin.Sc.), B.Osteo.Sc.
Director City Osteopaths
Registered Osteopath
B.App.Sc.,(Clin.Sc.), B.Osteo.Sc.
Director City Osteopaths
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