Are You Tired All The Time? – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Did you know that hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps chronic fatigue syndrome?

Tiredness, weariness, lethargy, and exhaustion are all symptoms indicating a lack of energy.

It may be accompanied by depression, diminished motivation, or apathetic mood.

In the most typical cases, inadequate sleep, overexertion, overworking, stress, lack of exercise, or boredom can all result in a lack of energy.

Issues like these are often resolved with rest, better sleeping habits, stress management, and decent nutrition.

However, a persistent lack of energy that does not alleviate with self-care may be a symptom of an underlying health or psychological issue.

Allergies and asthma, anemia, cancer, and its treatments, chronic pain, heart illness, infection, depression, eating disorders, bereavement, sleeping difficulties, thyroid problems, medication side effects, and alcohol or drug usage are also common reasons.

Constant exhaustion without a clear cause may result from a flu-like sickness known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Other typical symptoms include cognitive difficulties, prolonged weariness and illness after activity, muscle or joint discomfort, sore throat, headache, and painful lymph nodes.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy seeks to address this by increasing cellular energy production to alleviate the general fatigue and pain that patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome experience.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What is Chronic Fatigue?

The debilitating condition known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) affects people for long periods of time (up to 6 months).

This kind of fatigue is worsened by physical or mental exertion, and bed rest does nothing to alleviate it.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis is another name for this illness (ME).

ME/CFS is a common abbreviation for the condition. Systemic exertional intolerance disease (SEID) is the most recent term for this condition (SEID).

CFS is a mystery, but there are a number of theories about what causes the condition. These range from viral infections to psychological stress.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, according to some researchers, may be brought on by a combination of factors.

Chronic fatigue syndrome cannot be diagnosed with a single test.

Other health problems with similar symptoms may necessitate a number of medical tests.

Symptom improvement is the primary goal of treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome.

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Symptoms can vary from person to person, and the severity of symptoms can fluctuate from day to day. Signs and symptoms may include:

Fatigue
Problems with memory or concentration
Sore throat
Headaches
Enlarged lymph nodes in your neck or armpits
Unexplained muscle or joint pain
Dizziness that worsens with moving from lying down or sitting to standing
Unrefreshing sleep
Extreme exhaustion after physical or mental exercise

The Root of the Problem – Energy at the Molecular Level

The most widely accepted explanation for chronic fatigue syndrome is chalked up to psychological factors.

The brain consumes a lot of our resting cellular energy, so the mental processes of chronic stress, anxiety, and depression are known to trigger excessive consumption of energy, leaving us feeling worn down, unmotivated, and unable to function over an extended period of time.

If psychological factors can be ruled out, however, there is another explanation for chronic fatigue syndrome related to our cells’ energy production.

There is growing evidence and consensus among experts that mitochondrial dysfunction could be the cause of low energy levels. (Take note that psychological factors and mitochondrial dysfunction are not mutually exclusive. Some patients might experience both conditions simultaneously in varying degrees.)

The Role of Mitochondria in Energy Production

Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles (mitochondrion, singular) that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions.

Chemical energy produced by the mitochondria is stored in a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Mitochondria produces energy in a process called oxidative phosphorylation.

By using oxygen available within the cell, our mitochondria convert chemical energy from food into a form of energy that our cells can use.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Mitochondrial Dysfunction – Are They Linked?

There is considerable evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction is present in some Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients.

Muscle biopsies from patients with CFS studied under electron microscopy have shown unusual amounts of mitochondrial damage and degeneration.
They also showed severe deletions of genes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), specifically genes that are crucial to the process of bioenergy production.
Oxidative damage and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes were also detected in muscle specimens. Oxidative damage is caused by the increased production of free radicals which is linked to mitochondrial dysfunction.
Some essential compounds, such as carnitine and N-acylcarnitine, which are essential in some metabolic functions of mitochondria, were found to be significantly decreased in patients with CFS. Studies found that the carnitine levels directly affected functional capacity of patients.
Higher concentrations of xenobiotics, lactate, and pyruvate were found, coupled with reduced oxidative metabolism.
Patients with CFS show a decrease of intracellular pH and a lower rate of ATP synthesis during recovery was measured. These findings suggest impaired recycling of ADP to ATP in the mitochondria.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in various organs offers possible explanations for many of the other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.

There is mounting evidence that the symptoms are due to dysfunctions on the cellular level.

Gene expression studies have found abnormalities in genes linked to immune cells, brain cells, skeletal muscle cells, the thyroid, and mitochondria.

There seem to be three distinct clusters of clinical abnormalities that define CFS:

Diminished energy production – Fatigue, exhaustion, and lack of alertness.
Sensitization of the central nervous system – Hypersensitivity to temperature, light, noise odors, and certain foods. / Widespread pain across the body
Vascular system abnormalities – Blood flow and vascular complications such as orthostatic intolerance (inability to stay upright).

Studies are beginning to show that the lack of energy observed in CFS could potentially be traced to the mitochondria of our cells.

ATP produced by mitochondria is the major source of energy for all body functions. Therefore mitochondrial dysfunction could be a direct cause of chronic fatigue.

How Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Help Increase Our Energy?

Patients use hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic fatigue, to boost healing from injuries, to improve normal brain functioning after a concussion, and accelerate healing from a surgery or procedure.

The mitochondria in our cells operate similarly to a car’s combustion engine.

Just like an engine needs fuel (gasoline) and oxygen to create energy in the form of combustion, our mitochondria need fuel (food) and oxygen to create energy in the form of metabolism.

The efficiency of our metabolism largely benefits from a good intake of food and oxygen, as well as a good exhaust (waste disposal) mechanism.

Having a healthy, balanced diet does wonders for our mitochondria, but we need a good source of oxygen as well. This is where Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy comes into play.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is an FDA-approved procedure that involves breathing 100% pure oxygen while inside a specially designed machine called a hyperbaric chamber.

These are typically tube-shaped chambers large enough to hold one person or a room that can accommodate multiple people.

The air pressure inside the chamber can be increased to higher than normal levels while the air inside is oxygenated to 100%.

This procedure should be conducted by trained professionals who know how to calibrate the pressure and oxygen levels safely.

Breathing this air in this high-pressure environment allows our lungs to collect more oxygen, saturating our red blood cells to their maximum oxygen capacity.

Even our blood plasma is infused with oxygen. As our blood circulates around the body, all that oxygen is absorbed by the various cells.

Our mitochondria receive a sudden boost in oxygen, increasing energy production and metabolism beyond normal levels.

This energy can then be used for various functions such as healing, inflammation reduction, fat burning, motor function, brain function, and organ function.

It can even boost our immune system and regenerate damaged cells and DNA.

As for chronic fatigue syndrome, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy’s ability to oxygenate the body can help our mitochondria function at a much higher capacity, effectively energizing our cells in order to boost our energy levels.

This boost in energy results in better focus, more productivity, and higher capacity for stress, which could potentially reduce psychological factors that are linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy not only helps us heal, but it helps our bodies function at its maximum potential.

Studies on the Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome can have consequences on a person’s social life, such as hindering their ability to fulfill work, social, and family responsibilities.

Currently, there is no consensus regarding its treatment, but there is growing evidence that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help manage this condition.

A study was conducted in 2013 involving sixteen patients who were diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

The patients each underwent a total of 15 treatment sessions of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy over a course of three consecutive weeks, five days a week.

The goal of the study was to assess differences in the before and after measurements of their fatigue levels using VAFS (Visual Analog Fatigue Scale), FFS (Fatigue Severity Scale), and FQLS (Fatigue Quality of Life Score.

After the 15 sessions, it was determined that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was well tolerated by all patients, with no complications or side effects.

Patient scores on VAFS, FSS, and FQLS all showed significant improvement. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy successfully decreased the severity of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and increased life quality.

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