“For the first time in years, the study’s participants, most of whom had suffered from severe PTSD, were able to leave the horrors behind and look forward to a better future.”

For the first time, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been shown to alleviate PTSD symptoms (HBOT). It’s a type of treatment in which the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen in chambers with pressures greater than one atmosphere absolute, which is a word used in SCUBA diving and refers to the total of barometric and hydrostatic pressures.

The study was conducted between March 2018 and April 2019 and was published in the peer-reviewed journal PlosOne.

PTSD is a condition that affects individuals who have been through mentally distressing events. Flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and a variety of other distressing symptoms might occur, leading to significant dysfunctions in the patient’s social, occupational, and interpersonal activities.

Previously, drugs and concentrated therapy were employed to treat PTSD, but they only had a limited effect. Nearly half of the people who have PTSD don’t respond to treatment.

The study enrolled IDF veterans between 25 and 60 with at least four years of combat-related PTSD. They were referred to the study by their psychiatrist or psychotherapist, or they applied after seeing adverts in social media groups. They were then filtered based on questions in a questionnaire until the researchers had a group that met their criteria.

After being chosen, the patients were subjected to a battery of tests before being divided into treatment and control groups at random. The patients in the treatment group were given 60 daily sessions of HBOT five days a week, continuing their therapy from before the trial. The patients in the control group received their usual treatment but did not receive HBOT.

After three months, the patients were subjected to a number of tests to see if they had improved. Multiple tests revealed that the HBOT group outperformed the control group.

“We believe that in most patients, improvements will be preserved for years after the completion of the treatment,” said the study author. “This study gives real hope to PTSD sufferers. For the first time in years, the study’s participants, most of whom had suffered from severe PTSD, were able to leave the horrors behind and look forward to a better future.”

They further added: “Today we understand that treatment-resistant PTSD is caused by a biological wound in brain tissues, which obstructs attempts at psychological and psychiatric treatments.

“With the new HBOT protocols, we can activate mechanisms that repair the wounded brain tissue. The treatment induces reactivation and proliferation of stem cells, as well as generation of new blood vessels and increased brain activity, ultimately restoring the functionality of the wounded tissues. Our study paves the way to a better understanding of the connection between mind and body.”

Image Credit: Getty

You were reading: Oxygen Therapy: New PTSD treatment can help you leave horrors behind