Chronic Stress & Adrenal Fatigue

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Chronic stress can wreak havoc on a patient’s wellbeing and immune system. With the over abundance of stress hormones within the body, multiple systems may become dysfunctional. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can create a state of relaxation and help regulate hormones to bring the body back into a balanced state.

  • Studies have shown that hyperbaric therapy can help increase a person’s energy, improve their quality of sleep, increase the rate of serotonin production
  • Hyperbarics has been shown to flush lactic acid out of muscles, increase collagen and stem cell production, create new blood vessels (angiogenesis), increase energy levels and stamina, boost immunity and decrease inflammation in and around injuries, including the brain. All of this leads to hyperbaric oxygen therapy being a great addition to an athlete’s wellness regimen.
  • Increasing oxygen levels means more food for the cells. It positively, and permanently changes the part of the cell that uses oxygen for energy; after 10 sessions it gets bigger, and more efficient at using oxygen to produce energy to do the body's repair work and create lasting stamina. 
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“I have had Hashimotos and adrenal insufficiency for 6 years, and feel like I’ve tried all the supplements, diets, and medicines out there. Debilitating fatigue, fuzzy brain, unable to watch any movie that got my heart going, if I got startled I’d have to lie down for my heart to calm down, no eating sugar/milk/gluten, easily cold, thinning hair, etc. 

For a high energy person like me, it was a shadow of my normal life. I didn’t feel different after my first 1 hour session in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but the day after I decluttered an entire room. After 40 sessions, I didn’t need naps anymore, and I hosted a Christmas Party for 70 people. Last week I was able to ride a roller coaster. I’ve got my life back!” 
~VH, Patient

Stressing Less with Hyperbarics
It is often said that stress is bad for health. Many people don’t fully understand how true this is. Stress, whether acute or chronic, can cause a cascade of events inside the body which can damage every system.

Scientists have studied the human stress response from cave men to modern society. Whether the brain perceives a threat from being chased by a tiger, mourning the loss of a loved one, or from struggling with a mountain of unpaid bills, the resulting physiological response is the same.
When a person perceives a sensory threat (visual, audio, tactile, etc.), the amygdala is the first responder within the brain. The amygdala processes the danger and sends a distress call to the hypothalamus, which operates like the brain’s command center. It communicates to the rest of the body via the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by sending signals to major organs to release or stop releasing certain hormones. The ANS controls involuntary processes like breathing, heart rate, digestion, respiration and much more. Most of the time, the ANS is supposed to be in a balanced state called the parasympathetic response. During this time, all bodily functions are operating evenly and calmly, not in a stress/survival mode. It is often referred to as the “rest and digest” response because the body is prioritizing resting, digestion, reproduction and healing. When the hypothalamus releases distress signals, a series of events happens very quickly through the Autonomic Nervous System. In order to face an oncoming threat, the adrenal glands, located near the kidneys, release a flood of responsive hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prime the body. These hormones help trigger what is known as sympathetic response in the ANS. It is also often referred to as “fight or flight” mode. During a sympathetic response, the body increases respiration, heart rate and blood flow to the brain and muscles, while decreasing nonessential functions such as digestion, sleep, healing, immune response, and reproduction. This state allows the person to focus on surviving the stressful situation at hand, whether they need to flee from a dangerous animal or fight through a frightening public speaking presentation. When the danger or stressful event passes, the adrenal glands are told to stop releasing stress hormones and instead release calming hormones such as acetylcholine to slow the heart rate and bring the body back into a parasympathetic state to recover.

Unfortunately, modern society is not kind to the Autonomic Nervous System. While humans are not often facing acute, life-threatening dangers like our ancestors before, they do often face constant micro-stressors. In a state of constant stress, the body can get stuck in “fight or flight” mode. Combat veterans and abuse victims are prime examples of people in sympathetic dominance; less appreciated examples are single parents, financially struggling people, students, and people with high stress jobs. Being stuck in a chronic state of “fight or flight” can cause insomnia, digestion issues, autoimmune disease, frequent illness, slow healing, heart disease, even cancer. If the body is prioritizing basic survival functions for too long, other bodily functions will slow or even stop completely. The adrenal glands may eventually struggle to keep up with producing any kind of hormones needed to function properly, causing a condition called Adrenal Fatigue. Chronic stress is harmful at a cellular level as well; oxygen feeds mitochondria, but stress may cause that oxygen to be depleted or directed elsewhere. Without adequate oxygen, mitochondria may struggle to produce ATP, the energy source for all cellular processes, which can lead to widespread cell death, inflammation and more destruction throughout the entire body.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been studied on patients with sympathetic dominance using heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring. This research has shown that hyperbarics can help calm the ANS and cause the signals from the hypothalamus to change from a sympathetic response to a parasympathetic response. Researchers can watch in real time as patients switch from “fight or flight” over to “rest and digest” during a hyperbaric treatment. On a larger scale, much research has been done on patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and hyperbarics. Many studies have confirmed positive responses for these patients, sometimes full recovery. Increasing oxygen levels means more food for the cells as well. Mitochondria can produce adequate ATP to correct or replace damaged cells and tissues. Once the brain is able to stop sensing a constant threat, healing may take place everywhere, even in areas the patient doesn’t expect: fatigue, muscle or joint pain, dysfunctional immune system and much more.

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“I have had Hashimotos and adrenal insufficiency for 6 years, and feel like I’ve tried all the supplements, diets, and medicines out there. Debilitating fatigue, fuzzy brain, unable to watch any movie that got my heart going, if I got startled I’d have to lie down for my heart to calm down, no eating sugar/milk/gluten, easily cold, thinning hair, etc. 

For a high energy person like me, it was a shadow of my normal life. I didn’t feel different after my first 1 hour session in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but the day after I decluttered an entire room. After 40 sessions, I didn’t need naps anymore, and I hosted a Christmas Party for 70 people. Last week I was able to ride a roller coaster. I’ve got my life back!” 
~VH, Patient

See Testimonial Videos Of Patients' Experiences

Recovery For Athletes:
✅ 75% faster recovery from marathons, intense workouts, surgery, illness, weightlifting and more!
✅ Concussions, headaches, amazing for traumatic brain injury
✅ More energy, stamina, go longer, harder
✅ More mental clarity, eliminates brain fog, better focus even for ADD and autism
✅ The edge for athletes, try it a day before and after a big race!

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has helped this patient: 
✅Migraines/headaches, less intense, less of them
✅Pain relief
✅Recovery from exercise and injury
✅Helps with achy joints from aging
✅Boundless energy, feel vibrant!
✅More mental clarity, less overwhelmed
✅Relaxation, less anxious and stressed

Stroke recovery in these ways:
✅Faster recovery
✅Restore feeling and movement in affected limbs
✅Restore connectivity to muscles
✅Hair growth
✅Eliminate Lupus rash
✅Improves natural feeling and sensitivity
✅Improvements in strength
✅Improved mobility
✅Improved brain function and confidence
✅Brain fog

Using hyperbaric made a huge difference for
✅Neuropathy pain, pins and needles
✅Being able to wear shoes again, stand for extended periods of time
✅Sore feet including plantar fasciitis pain (from other patient testimonials)
✅Nerve recovery, restores natural feeling and sensitivity
✅Improved sleep quality, deeper and longer
✅ Improved quality of life

Chronic Stress & Adrenal Fatigue: Research & Articles

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cerebral blood flow increased following low pressure hyperbaric oxygenation in firefighters with, mild traumatic brain injury, emotional distress, fatigue, tired, chronic fatigue syndrome, exhausted, adrenal fatigue, fatigue symptoms, tiredness, tired all the time, extreme fatigue, chronic fatigue, feeling tired all the time, always tired, adrenal fatigue symptoms, muscle fatigue, pandemic fatigue, mentally exhausted, chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms, i am tired, so tired, tired after eating
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Here's What I've Learned

New medical research Reveals most powerful treatment yet

From: Dr. AJ Ludlow
Stronglife Physiotherapy

There is a big difference between being alive and thriving.

To me thriving means living a capable, strong, independent and exhilarating life. Thriving means avoiding debilitating illness, aches and pains. This can be a challenge as we age. Wouldn't you agree?

As the owner at Stronglife Physiotherapy I have a rare opportunity to bring revolutionary medical technology to help those working toward this kind of life. This therapy will help my patients have an unfair advantage to living a healthier life. As you'll see below, this treatment offers hope and healing for a wide range of conditions including many that don't have many other treatment options. 

About Our "Stronglife" Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic

About Dr. AJ Ludlow, DPT

About Dr. AJ Ludlow, DPT

Dr. AJ Ludlow is passionate about finding the most innovative ways to keep his patients from being in pain and struggling with debilitating disease for years. He wants to bring the best medical technology the world can offer to the state he loves and the people he wants most to help.

A California native, but has lived a total of 15+ years in Utah between receiving his undergraduate at Brigham Young University and his doctorate at the University of Utah, he now calls Utah his home!

He has traveled and researched extensively to find the most effective solutions for injury and pain. What someone would have once had to travel outside the US for, is now available right here in Provo, UT. 

Dr AJ Ludlow Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Provider in Provo Utah, stronglife physiotherapy AJ ludlow doctor of physical therapy physical therapist in provo Orem utah

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of hyperbaric chamber do you use?
We use soft chambers that reach 1.3 atmospheres of pressure. This is considered mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy and has several advantages over hard chambers. When it comes to pressure with HBOT, more is not necessarily better. Most chronic or non-emergency conditions respond better to lower pressures. You still get a healing dose of oxygen and pressure without the higher risks that come with higher pressure chambers. It is much more affordable than hard chamber sessions and it is even available for home use for those who have a hard time coming into the office for the recommended number of treatments.   
 
Am I a good candidate if my Doctor doesn’t think it will help?
A study found that 75% of medical schools offer little to no education on hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Most doctors have very limited understanding of hyperbarics. A practitioner with specialized knowledge of hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be better suited to answer your questions. When you consider how safe, natural and powerful hyperbarics can be, it is worth doing more research and seeking a second opinion from a knowledgeable practitioner. Many doctors who do educate themselves on hyperbaric oxygen therapy end up being very supportive and even change their practice of medicine to offer it. 
 
How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy help? 
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy delivers up to 3x the normal amount of oxygen throughout the body. This helps with healing, reducing inflammation, energy production, digestion, detoxification, concentration, recovery, etc. Many parts of the body do not receive sufficient oxygen, are damaged, or “turned off” because of an illness, or injury. For example tendons do not receive as much blood flow as muscles and are often more likely to be injured or strained. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy gets more oxygen to all parts of the body, reawakening cells, such as brain cells after a stroke, or heart cells after a heart attack. It gives the body a huge advantage to heal, repair and regenerate itself. As a result of the increased oxygen, the part of every cell in your body that produces energy (mitochondria) becomes stronger and more efficient, many negative symptoms from health conditions and aging disappear, and you have more energy and mental clarity. The more sessions you do, the more these changes become permanent. It positively affects your DNA and can turn some negative DNA markers off and turn positive ones on. For example, eliminating many allergic reactions and even putting some diseases into remission.
 
Does insurance cover hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is FDA approved, covered by insurance, for 14 conditions, even though many other conditions benefit from this treatment. It is used for over 200 different conditions in other countries with extensive research supporting its use. If hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used for any condition other than the 14 approved conditions it will be considered “off label’ and therefore not covered by insurance companies. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a regenerative treatment and insurance companies, unfortunately, have a bad track record of covering regenerative medicine. The FDA approved conditions are: air embolism, gas embolism, acute traumatic ischemia, burns, carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, diabetic foot ulcers, exceptional blood loss, decompression sickness, gas gangrene, necrotizing infections, severe anemia, skin grafts and flaps and wound healing. If you have one of the FDA approved conditions it is recommended that you seek care at a facility that can bill insurance for the treatment. 
 
Is hyperbaric oxygen safe? 
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is extremely safe, especially the type offered at Stronglife. Our chamber goes to 1.3 ATM which is the equivalent pressure of being 10 feet under water. We also provide supplemental oxygen directly to you through a nasal cannula instead of pressurizing the entire chamber with 100%. This means there is no risk of oxygen toxicity and no risk of a small spark causing a fire or explosion, with higher pressure and higher oxygen levels the risks go up. 
 
The main risk with any form of hyperbaric oxygen treatment is the (small) risk of damage to the ear drums. While the chamber is being pressurized, you will notice pressure building in the ears (similar to when on a plane or when under water). It is important to be able to equalize the pressure in your ears by yawning, pinching your nose and swallowing or pinching your nose while yawning. Most people are easily able to equalize the pressure. We will be standing by the whole time to assist with the process, and can pause the chamber or release pressure for those few who have a difficult time. 
 
While the majority of people notice they feel better after their HBOT session, there is at times a detox reaction also known as a Herxheimer reaction. This can result in flu-like symptoms including body aches, mild fever, fatigue, nausea or other symptoms. This is caused when harmful microorganisms die off and move towards elimination in the body. While this can be an unpleasant experience it is actually a good thing because the treatment is helping the body excrete these harmful mircoorganisms from the body like Lyme bacteria, Epstein-Barr Virus, mold toxins and others. After several treatments these symptoms will fade and are replaced by higher energy levels and a greater feeling of wellbeing. 
 
 
Does hyperbaric oxygen therapy interact with medications: 
Very few medications are of concern (listed below).
Bleomycin
Cisplatin
Doxorubicin
Sulfamylon
Disulfiram
Mafernide Acetate
 
Can I do hyperbaric oxygen therapy if I am claustrophobic: 
Yes, we are standing by the entire time to turn off the chamber and let you out at a moment's notice. We have had many claustrophobic patients do the full treatment reporting afterwards that they had a pleasant experience and felt quite relaxed. The hyperbaric oxygen stimulates a relaxation response in the body, and most just read, use their phones or take a nap. Most are also surprised by how roomy the chamber feels on the inside. 
 
What does it feel like to do hyperbaric oxygen therapy? 
When asked, patients relate that it is a very relaxing experience. Before you get in we recommend using the bathroom. Then you remove any sharp objects from your pockets and remove your shoes. You climb into the chamber, it is on a platform, for those who have a hard time getting down on the floor. You will have an oxygen tube feeding oxygen directly to your nose.You lie down and relax on a thick pad and pillows. In the first 5 minutes the chamber comes up to pressure during which time you clear your ears multiple times, like when you are on an airplane or going over a summit while driving. After that, you’ll hear fresh air coming in and going out, like white noise. Many patients can sit up if they choose, but most prefer to lay down and relax. The last 5 minutes when it is depressurizing, you can feel some mild pressure on your ears, but most don’t even need to clear or “pop” their ears. Once it has depressurized, we unclasp it and you climb out. Most patients say they feel very relaxed afterward, “like walking on a cloud all day, “ chronic pain patients have told us, “it was the first time in months I wasn’t in pain.” There is no downtime, no need to take off work, you can immediately resume your normal activities. 
 
Are there times it is not advised to do hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
For the following situations, it is not recommended.
Untreated Pneumothorax (punctured lung)
Serious sinus congestion
Sickle Cell Anemia
High Fever
Hereditary Spherocytosis
COPD
Pregnancy
 
For any questions not addressed here please call or text us, we are happy to answer your specific questions regarding your unique health concerns.
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