Hyperbaric Oxygen for TBI: Former NFL Player Battles Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

With championship football in full swing, we submit this cautionary tale of former University of Colorado and San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle George Visger. Visger suffers from hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, after a career filled with hard blows to the head. More generally, his condition is a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Today he says he'd give up his Super Bowl ring and wishes he'd never played the sport.

Now the controversial part. Visger is receiving HBOT at the Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic of Sacramento. We've grown wary of publicity generated by the clinic's Dr Kenneth P. Stoller, especially surrounding sensational cases of so-called vaccine injury, a bogus public health crisis. Hyperbaric oxygen is not indicated for the treatment of TBI or CTE, nor do we find any high-quality clinical evidence to support the claims made here. Still, it is encouraging to see Visger apparently enjoying some symptom relief with hyperbaric oxygen.

Read more about Visger's journey in "Battle scars" on Recordnet.com, website of The Record, covering Stockton and San Joaquin County, California. Click play to watch the long (10:47) video below. Despite our reservations about the clinical evidence on HBOT for CTE, this personal profile is undeniably moving and worth a watch.