Healing Brainwaves HBOT Program

Click here To pre-register for the HBOT program

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): During HBOT, a patient is placed in a pressurized chamber and breathes in pure oxygen, which increases the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. This increase in oxygen levels can have several beneficial effects on the brain:

  1. Promotes angiogenesis: HBOT promotes the growth of new blood vessels, which can improve blood flow and supply of oxygen to damaged brain areas.

  2. Reduces inflammation: HBOT has been shown to reduce inflammation in the brain, which can help prevent further damage and support healing.

  3. Mobilizes stem cells: HBOT mobilizes stem cells, which can differentiate into different types of cells in the body and contribute to tissue repair.

Our Program: Our goal is to provide pre-injury and same-day treatments to athletes who are most vulnerable to brain injuries, as well as long-term treatment assistance to those who have a history of brain injuries and could not otherwise afford the cost of HBOT.

Why: We hope to offset the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in communities that are vulnerable to it.

For example, for big wave surfing, click here; the password is waves.

Who qualifies: Anyone who has sustained a brain injury or engages in activities that put them at a high risk.

Cost: To start, we will provide our community with a sliding scale price; no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Ideally, with enough fundraising, our goal is to offer free treatment to everyone.

Development of the Program

We aim to serve many communities within the brain injury umbrella.

  • Surfing: We hope to expand this program to every big wave break globally, as well as provide treatment at surfing competitions.

  • Sports outside of surfing: We want to offer this program to all athletes at risk of a brain injury. From rodeo, MMA, mountain biking, football, soccer, etc., if there is a sporting event in which athletes could sustain a brain injury while participating, we want to expand our program to include it.

  • Veterans: As of now, veterans do not have access to HBOT as a brain injury treatment. We hope to provide treatment to the veteran population.

  • Studies: We have designed our intake and exit forms to be used for retrospective studies.

Phase 1: During big-wave surfing Mavericks swells, the HBOT chamber will be available to the big-wave Mavericks community in El Granada for same-day use.

Phase 2: We will expand to other sporting events where athletes are vulnerable to brain injuries and bring our portable chamber to the event.

Phase 3: Once a Santa Cruz location is solidified for the HBOT chamber, it will be mainly located in Santa Cruz for community use, except when sporting events are scheduled, and the chamber will be temporarily moved to that event. For example, when Mavericks breaks, the chamber will be transferred to El Granada for same-day use by the surfers.

Phase 4: Have multiple HBOT chambers, one permanently available for the Santa Cruz community and the others used for sporting events where athletes are vulnerable to head injuries.