captain Dylan Hartley, just 36, has spoken publicly about the issues of dementia and brain injury connected with the very physical sport.
Sarah Todd, who runs Oxify in Leeds where people can book sessions in a hyperbaric chamber like the one used by Hartley, says it has been used to treat a number of people with brain injuries and dementia – getting high concentrations of oxygen to the part of the brain which is starved of it.“Brain damage or dementia can cause small blockages in the brain,” she said. “The therapy helps to get oxygen to those sites of inflammation or injury.
The treatment involves breathing in almost pure oxygen in a pressurised environment. During a session you lie inside the hyperbaric chamber and simply breathe in almost pure oxygen through a mask. The whole process is supervised by one of Oxify’s trained team.