Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is a crippling birth condition that occurs in a high percentage of infants. If you or someone you know needs a treatment option for their child in or around the area of Morris County, New Jersey, HBOT USA is a clinic that can help.

HBOT USA has been approved by the FDA to provide holistic care as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Erb’s Palsy treatment in infants.

The importance of oxygen to the human body as a whole is the driving force for this treatment. Our cells rely primarily on oxygen as their energy source.

When inhaling air, the lungs separate the oxygen and allow it to be absorbed by the red blood cells. The circulating blood then carries this to the rest of the body.

Mitochondria in our cells transform oxygen into energy, which in turn powers our body’s many tasks, including repair and immunity.

Injuries involving nerve damage or nerve blockages can often take a very long time to recover since our bodies can’t perform as well when they don’t get enough oxygen.

Lack of oxygen plays a major role in the development of neuropathic disorders. By increasing oxygen levels in the blood, hyperbaric oxygen therapy speeds up the body’s natural recovery process and helps repair damaged nerves.

Let’s examine the illness and the role that oxygen plays in treating it to have a better grasp on how hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Erb’s palsy works.

What is Erb’s Palsy?

A birth injury to the brachial plexus nerves in the neck causes Erb’s palsy, a neuropathy (nerve damage) that manifests as weakening or paralysis of the affected arm.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) reports that 1 in 1,000 newborns are born with Erb’s palsy.

The majority of kids will be able to use and feel their afflicted arms again. Adults are also susceptible to developing Erb’s palsy after sustaining serious injuries.

Injuries to the nerves of the brachial plexus can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe.

Mild injuries occur when only the nerve fibers or the insulation tissue surrounding the nerves are damaged.

Moderate to severe injuries occur when both the nerve fibers and the insulation tissue are damaged or completely destroyed.

When compared to another form of birth damage, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy is quite different.

Erb’s palsy results from trauma to the nerves in the neck, while cerebral palsy is brought on by trauma to the brain.

As a result of damage to the brachial plexus, patients may have weakness and limited range of motion in their upper arms.

Signs and Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy

How you feel after suffering a brachial plexus injury (and so developing Erb’s palsy) will depend on the nature of the damage.

Symptoms of Erb’s palsy in infants and adults include numbness, disability, or paralysis of one arm.

Causes of Erb’s palsy

Erb’s palsy is commonly induced by the prolonged or forceful stretching of an infant’s head and shoulders.

If the baby’s head and neck are jerked to the side when the shoulders emerge from the birth canal, the baby may develop Erb’s palsy.

The doctor may have to act rapidly and use more force to bring the baby out of the birth canal during a difficult birth. Because of the strain on the infant’s neck, Erb’s palsy could develop.

Nerves can be damaged or even torn from being stretched too far.

There are several names for this form of Erb’s palsy, including brachial plexus birth palsy, obstetric brachial plexus palsy, and brachial plexus birth damage.

An abnormal position of the infant in the womb is another possible cause of brachial plexus palsy.

When the baby’s head descends down the birth canal, it’s possible for the baby’s shoulder to become lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone.

While the baby’s head is being pushed out, the brachial plexus nerves may be stretched.

Erb’s palsy can affect a newborn during a C-section or difficult vaginal birth. In order to deliver the baby’s shoulders, the doctor or obstetrician may need to shift the baby’s head to one side.

Many cases of brachial plexus palsy can be traced back to medical staff negligence. This could occur if a medical professional makes a serious error that ends up seriously harming the baby.

Shoulder dystocia during delivery almost triplicates a child’s risk of acquiring Erb’s palsy. If the baby’s head is born first, but their shoulders remain in the womb, the condition is known as shoulder dystocia.

Erb’s palsy is more likely to occur in infants if any of the following risk factors are present:

Extreme maternal weight gain
Diabetic mother
2nd stage of labor that lasts over an hour
Excessive pulling on the infant’s arm
Unusually large or heavy infant
Unusually small or abnormally shaped maternal pelvis
Improper or excessive use of delivery tools such as forceps or vacuum extractors

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Erb’s Palsy Treatment

Reduced blood and oxygen supply to an area is a common symptom of neuropathy (nerve injury).

Many parents are finding success using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for their infant with Erb’s Palsy, in which the child is exposed to extremely high levels of oxygen in an attempt to accelerate the child’s recovery.

The sooner treatment can begin, the better because the longer nerve injury goes untreated, the greater the chance of permanent nerve death.

Neuropathies like Erb’s Palsy respond well to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). It lessens cell death and discomfort by increasing oxygen delivery to areas deep within the body.

Further, hyperbaric oxygen encourages the development of new blood vessels, which improves the body’s ability to transport oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

In a process called mitochondrial respiration, membrane-bound organelles called mitochondria produce the vast majority of our cells’ energy needs.

The mitochondria in our cells need oxygen as fuel. Thus it plays a crucial role in this process. A sufficient amount of oxygen in the bloodstream is essential for the proper functioning of every cell in the human body.

Signs of low oxygen levels include difficulty breathing, dizziness, nausea, and a racing heart.

Oxygenating the blood has been shown to help with a variety of health issues, speed up recovery, and improve the body’s ability to regenerate and operate.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Erb’s palsy is effective because non-healing wounds, such as those seen in individuals with neuropathies, are effectively treated with high amounts of oxygen in the blood.

Injury and inflammation of the brachial plexus nerve, as in Erb’s Palsy, may respond well to a high concentration of oxygen.

Brachial plexus nerve trauma can sometimes create a chronic wound that does not respond to standard medical care.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, however, induces high levels of oxygen into the blood, basically hacking our body’s natural healing mechanism and allowing it to restore injured nerves and tissues on its own.

How does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy work?

With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the patient is exposed to 100% oxygen at high atmospheric pressure in order to facilitate healing.

The total amount of oxygen in our blood is increased by hyperbaric oxygen therapy to levels that are not normally achievable under regular conditions.

A trip to a Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment facility, where professionals and qualified physicians will guide you through the process, will accomplish this in a safe and regulated manner.

You and your child will be asked to enter a hyperbaric oxygen room, where the air pressure and oxygen levels have been artificially raised if you continue to breathe normally.

At the same time, in this oxygen-rich atmosphere, your infant’s blood plasma will eventually become hyper-saturated.

As a result, the body’s energy levels skyrocket, promoting the repair of damaged tissues, lengthening of telomeres, speeding up metabolism, strengthening the immune system, promoting neuroplasticity, and most importantly, growing new blood vessels.

The positive effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Erb’s palsy treatment is proven and well documented

Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy safe for infants?

Even infants as young as 15 months can safely undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy so long as they are able to sit or lie still in the hyperbaric chamber under the supervision of an adult.

Typically in hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Erb’s palsy, one of the parents will enter the hyperbaric chamber with the baby in their arms.

The benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children are the same as those for adults, and the treatment is non-invasive.

Infants and children can benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy because it increases oxygen flow to the body, speeding up recovery beyond what the body could accomplish on its own.

Oxygen is transported throughout the body via the bloodstream and helps to heal and strengthen the child’s tissues, cells, muscles, and organs during hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The extra oxygen speeds up the healing process by killing unwanted bacteria, triggering the release of stem cells, and encouraging the development of new blood vessels.

Depending on the extent of the injury, different chambers, therapies, pressure, and oxygen levels may be necessary.

Your pediatrician will devise a treatment strategy that is tailor-made for your child’s needs.

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