HBOT Conversations:
Dr. Hemal Mehta & Fasting (Part 1)
Dr. Hemal Mehta, MD is a Medical Director and an Independent Medical Examiner who focuses on pain management through a Regenerative medicine approach.
Dr. Mehta is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Pain Management. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at East Carolina. He is the Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina, Tennessee Integrative Pain Institute, and TN Integrative Healthcare: Musculoskeletal and Regenerative Center; additionally, Dr. Mehta is the attending physician at Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics.
Dr. Mehta is the 2013 recipient of the Inaugural Patient Appreciation Award at Nashville Academy of Medicine, and the 2004 Research Resident of the Year for East Carolina University.
Dr. Mehta has extensive experience with stem cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. He has incorporated Ozone Injection Therapy, PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) Injections, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Regenerative Matrix and Regenerative Medicine Procedures – to name a few – into his integrative wellness & longevity medical practices.
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HBOT News Network welcomes Dr. Hemal V. Mehta, M.D.; Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina.
After the first 10-15 years of his medical career focusing on interventional pain management, Dr. Mehta started to get involved in regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicines is a newer field of medicine involving PRP – Platelet Rich Plasma, stem cells, and different techniques (like HBOT) to help regenerate tissue in the body. When he first started using regenerative medicine, Dr. Mehta witnessed his patients doing considerably better and improving to the point that he was able to even wean them off of opioid pain medications. It was then that Dr. Mehta started integrating Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT or HBO Therapy) into some of the individualized patient healing plans he would develop for optimum healing.
Dr. Mehta touches on inflammation and how inflammation is one of the greatest problems people today deal with on a daily basis. Bad food choices, injuries and even stress all contributes to an increase of inflammation. Targeting inflammation is key to a healthy body and mind. Hyperbaric oxygen is an ideal therapy to address inflammation by upregulating the anti-inflammatory gene and downregulating the inflammatory gene. Dr. Mehta also mentions other therapies that assist in reducing inflammation in the joints and body — regenerative treatments using stem cells, PRP, ozone injections and exosomes.
According to Dr. Mehta, too much focus and energy goes into the promotion of pharmaceutical drugs to ease every ailment, indication or condition. He mentioned that when he was studying for his medical degree, he had almost two years of pharmacology classes but only one six-week semester of nutrition. It’s unfortunate that nutrition is not stressed more to young doctors, because much of the food we purchase at the grocery store is toxic and very pro-inflammatory. Dr. Mehta stresses that “you are what you eat”. Processed food is one of the worst things for our bodies. In his opinion, processed food is a major oxygen depleter since our bodies have to use extra energy and oxygen to break it down. Our bodies have to work much harder to break down processed junk, so he encourages our viewers to eat foods that are natural and avoid processed.
Since nutrition is a HUGE part of a person’s health, it’s important to look at alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs – like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and fasting. In Dr. Mehta’s opinion, fasting is an excellent way for people to maintain health. Our bodies don’t necessarily NEED 3 meals a day, so when we overeat our bodies store the excess. Dr. Mehta is a big believer in fasting and reminds us that fasting is the ultimate detox. Food, especially processed food, sugar, and food with high fructose corn syrup, can be very pro-inflammatory and toxic. Fasting accelerates the process of the liver cleaning out toxins and gives our organs a much needed break to heal and rejuvenate. Fasting dates back to the Bible and beyond – every religious facet has fasting as part of their religion.
Fasting is nothing new, so try it and add Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy into the mix too; something magical is truly happening to the body when you fast and receive HBOT. Dr. Mehta reminds us that there is also a strong association between fasting and reduced cancer risk, which he will get into more in Part 2 of our Conversations with Dr. Mehta about fasting & HBOT. Stay tuned to learn more about how fasting starves the cancer cells from the sugars and nutrients they need to feed and grow.
*Pease consult your doctor to see if fasting is right for you.
Guest
Dr. Hemal Mehta
Dr. Hemal Mehta specializes in non-opioid treatment for joint pain, osteoarthritis, spine pain and neuropathy. He is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician whose goal for patients is to reduce pain while increasing their level of function & quality of life. He received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his residency at East Carolina.
Dr. Mehta is the Medical Director of Vibrant Health of North Carolina, Tennessee Integrative Pain Institute, and TN Integrative Healthcare: Musculoskeletal and Regenerative Center; additionally, Dr. Mehta is the attending physician at Nashville Regenerative Orthopedics. He is the 2013 recipient of the Inaugural Patient Appreciation Award at Nashville Academy of Medicine, and the 2004 Research Resident of the Year for East Carolina University. He is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, and American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Dr. Mehta has extensive experience with stem cell proliferation and angiogenesis. For years he has incorporated Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy into his integrative approach for pain management and rehabilitation, and he has also preformed the following procedures fluoroscopically: Translaminar Cervical and Lumbar ESI, Transforaminal Lumbar ESI, Lumbar Selective Nerve Root Blocks, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, Lumbar Sympathetic Blocks, SIJ injections, Hip Joint Injections, Piriformis Injections, Cervical and Lumbar Facet Joint Injections, Medial Branch Nerve Blocks, Radiofrequency Ablation of Medial Branch Nerve, Discography, Percutaneous Disc Decompression/ Intradiscal Injections, Spinal Cord Stimulator Lead Trial, PRP/ Regenerative Matrix/ Regenerative Medicine Procedures for Spine, Peripheral Joints, and Nerves, P-Shot/O-shot, Juvederm Anti-aging, and Ozone Injection Therapy.
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Recent HBOT News
Clinical Trial – HBOT Late Radiation Tissue Injury
Background: Radiotherapy is a common treatment for many malignancies. Radiation-related
complications developing months or years after radiation treatment are known as late
radiation tissue injury (LRTI) and are estimated to effect 5%-15% of all long-term survivors
who have received radiation.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a well established treatment of LRTI. Most of the studies
evaluating effect of HBOT on LRTI are focused on survival, resolution of tissue damage and
improvement in LENT-SOMA scale. Very few studies have addressed effect of HBOT on pain in
LTRI. Krahn and colleagues were the first to report the analgesic effect of HBOT in 3 cases
of refractory pain in oncological patients with radiation soft tissue injury. Other studies
showed significant improvement in pain intensity in patients with breast cancer and pelvic
malignancies treated with HBOT for LTRI. In patients that had developed radiation- induced
brachial plexopathy, HBOT elicited an increase in warm pain thresholds and a reduction in
lymphoedema. A prospective case study of 16 patients with gynecological cancer found no
changes with respect to pain and depression outcomes. A trial in patients with radiation
induced proctopathy showed that 75% of patients with rectal pain had some improvement,
although none experienced a complete resolution of pain symptoms.
There are several mechanisms by which HBOT may elicit analgesic effects. There is a growing
body of evidence that HBOT’s analgesic effect related to nitric oxide metabolism and
endogenous opioid secretion. Furthermore, the inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alph
(TNF-α), the production of substance P, and the modulation of serotonergic pathways have all
demonstrated a modification in the pain response following HBOT. In animal studies HBOT
decreased allodynia and hyperalgesia in different models of neuropathic and inflammatory
pain. The long lasting antinociceptive effect of HBOT was found to be dose-dependent in
non-injured tissues.
In human studies, HBOT decreased pain and edema and improved function in patients suffering
from the complex regional pain syndrome, and improved pain scores and range of motion in
patients with idiopathic femoral head necrosis. Women suffering from interstitial cystitis
demonstrated a reduction in pelvic pain following weeks and months of HBOT treatment. In
patients suffering from idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia HBOT produced a rapid reduction in
symptoms and these effects were lasting for 6 months following treatment. HBOT was also found
to be an effective treatment for cluster headaches and migraines and alleviated muscle and
bone pains in patients with myofascial syndrome, fibromyalgia, and biphosphonate-related
osteonecrosis of the jaw.
Based on the evidence presented above and HBOT’s known analgesic effect in many conditions,
the investigators designed this study with the objective to evaluate if HBOT reduces pain,
improves depression and impacts on patients quality of life in patients suffering from late
radiation tissue injury.
Study Design: Prospective observational study (n=300). Patients that have had radiation
therapy for malignancy, developed late radiation injury and suffer from chronic pain.
Clinical Trial – HBOT in Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain condition affecting several millions of Canadians.
Although the etiology and pathophysiology are poorly understood, there is a well-recognized
association between muscular pain in fibromyalgia and muscular hypoperfusion, hypoxia,
abnormal muscle metabolism and oxidative stress. Currently there is no cure for FM.
Pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies are directed to control symptoms such as
pain, fatigue, non-restorative sleep and depression.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an intermittent inhalation of 100% oxygen in a hyperbaric
chamber at a pressure higher than 1 absolute atmosphere. Physiological effect of HBOT is
based on a dramatic increase in the amount of dissolved oxygen carried by the blood which
enables oxygenation of ischemic areas with compromised circulation. It also activates
oxidant-antioxidant system, stimulates angio- and neurogenesis, modulates inflammatory
response, induces brain neuroplasticity and possesses analgesic effect.
While some interventions offer benefit for some patients, additional treatment alternatives
are needed for patients with FM in whom currently available options are either ineffective or
poorly tolerated. Given its physiological effect, HBOT could be considered as a potential
therapy for treatment of underlying muscular hypoxia, optimizing oxidant- antioxidant system
and controlling FM symptoms. The results from this study could therefore provide new
information supporting the basic science underling the pathophysiology of this disease and
stimulate novel therapies for patients suffering with FM.
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