ATX Hyperbarics offers individuals access to powerful equipment for assisting the body in repairing and healing itself from the inside out. Medical Director Dr. Eleanor Womack said hyperbaric oxygen therapy and light therapy can help individuals recover faster, feel better, and live longer.

ATX Hyperbarics offers both PhotoBioModulation (PBM) light therapy beds and medical-grade hyperbaric chambers which can grow new blood vessels and neurons, stimulate mitochondria function, and promote overall health.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at ATX Hyperbarics involves breathing pure 100% oxygen through a non-rebreather mask or hood while sitting in a steel chamber that is pressurized to 1.3 to 2.4 times the atmospheric pressure.

Dr. Womack explained that in a hyperbaric chamber under increased atmospheric pressure, oxygen dissolves into the plasma that carries the red blood cells. At normal pressure breathing room air, oxygen typically only travels when attached to red blood cells, but inside the chamber at increased pressure, more oxygen gets dissolved in the plasma that carries the red blood cells. At two atmospheres of pressure inside of a hyperbaric chamber, the body receives in excess of 1000% increase in the load of oxygen in the blood.

In an hyperbaric chamber, oxygen also dissolves in the cerebral spinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, as well as permeates joints and tendons which normally don’t receive significant blood supply. This increase in oxygen tension continues for over 3 hours after you get out of the chamber.

Oxygen optimizes the body’s biological processes, and the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy include faster healing and improved mitochondrial function. PBM light therapy uses specific light waves to increase adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy and collagen production as well as stimulate mitochondria.

Hyperbaric oxygen and PBM light therapy treatment help the body make extra energy through improving mitochondrial function with specific adjustment of key enzymes and proteins in the mitochondrial membranes. When you give mitochondria unlimited oxygen for short periods of time, the DNA inside the mitochondria is adjusted for better function and the mitochondria that were shut down are put back to work. A single hour of hyperbaric therapy at 2.0 ATA upregulates 2000 anti-inflammatory genes and down regulates 2000 inflammatory genes.

The CDC estimates that 3.3 million Americans are living with chronic fatigue syndrome. Chronic fatigue is characterized by feelings of bone-deep exhaustion lasting six months or more that is not eased by rest. Dr. Womack comments that “Chronic fatigue can be debilitating and it can prevent you from being social, it can affect mood, and is often associated with depression.”

Dr. Womack says the common denominator of all the different presentations of chronic fatigue is severe mitochondrial dysfunction. When mitochondria are shut down by toxins from Lyme, Mold, Covid, and the myriad of toxic exposures in our food, water, and air, the person will experience unusual fatigue that persists.

Dr. Womack said stacking multiple healing processes together can make a bigger impact. For the best results, individuals should use a combination of the ATX Hyperbaric light beds three times per week, four to five sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy per week and take an oral capsule of methylene blue which improves oxygen transport in the body.

“Chronic fatigue can be isolating; it can go on for many, many years,” Dr. Womack said. “And you can feel trapped and as though there’s no hope. Using modalities like hyperbaric with or without the other modalities we discussed can truly make a difference, and someone can go from being housebound to being back in life.”

Prescriptions are necessary for hyperbaric treatment. A patient can either get one from their doctor or contact Dr. Womack’s office directly to obtain one. Hyperbaric sessions are typically 60 minutes except for concussion and anti-aging protocol treatments which are 90 minutes and priced to be affordable. Prescriptions are not necessary for PBM light therapy.

ATX Hyperbarics has two locations at 5656 Bee Caves Road, Westlake, and 1545 Round Rock Ave., Round Rock. Contact the team to learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy and PhotoBioModulation (PBM) light therapy services. To book a consultation, visit the ATX Hyperbarics website.

The above story was produced by Senior Multi Platform Journalist Summer El-Shahawy with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.