HBOT and NeuroTrax: A Powerful Combination for Reversing Decades of Trauma-Driven Fibromyalgia

HBOT and NeuroTrax: A Powerful Combination for Reversing Decades of Trauma-Driven Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia often involves central sensitization, cognitive fog, pain, and limited mobility, particularly challenging when symptoms are rooted in early-life trauma. However, a new case gives reason for optimism: a 62-year-old patient, with fibromyalgia persisting for over ten years and linked to childhood trauma, showed dramatic improvements following hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

The HBOT protocol involved 60 sessions over 12 weeks (90 minutes per session at 2 ATA). Post-treatment outcomes were impressive:

  • Pain and symptom metrics: FIQR dropped from 60.5 to 44; fibromyalgia criteria score decreased from 16 to 12.
  • Medication reduction: Discontinuation of pregabalin and halving of duloxetine dosage.
  • Mobility gains: Walking speed increased from 3.2 to 4.5 km/h, with better balance and coordination.
  • Neurocognitive improvements: NeuroTrax computerized testing recorded a 10% improvement in global cognitive function and a 26.9% gain in attention, providing objective evidence of cognitive recovery in fibromyalgia.
  • Brain imaging: SPECT and diffusion tensor imaging confirmed enhanced brain perfusion and white matter integrity, corroborating the clinical and cognitive outcomes.

This case not only highlights HBOT’s potential to promote neuroplasticity and functional recovery but also demonstrates the unique clinical value of NeuroTrax – its precision facilitated detection and quantification of cognitive changes that traditional assessments might miss. For clinicians managing complex, trauma-associated fibromyalgia, the combination of HBOT and NeuroTrax offers both a promising therapeutic avenue and a rigorous way to track recovery.

Larger studies are needed, but this case, with its rich multi-domain evaluations and NeuroTrax metrics, offers critical, clinician-friendly insights into effective treatment of fibromyalgia.

Contact us to find out more about how NeuroTrax can bring objective cognitive insights to your practice. 

Full text (open access):

https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13256-025-05453-2

Citation:

Mouzayan, G., Khairy, S., Wang, Z., Qureshi, U., Zaitoun, R., and Efrati, S. (2025). Efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in treating fibromyalgia linked to childhood trauma after late-onset and over a decade of symptoms: A case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 19:386. PMID: 40765001