Why Iowa Hawkeye basketball Player Caitlyn Clark Needs HBOT: A systematic Review
Call me a bandwagon fan, but I have become a fan of Hawkeye women’s basketball over the past couple of weeks.
Anyone else?
Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes have made quite the splash in sports, and for good reason. They can’t be stopped beyond the 3 point arc, and you can’t let them drive the ball inside.
What makes them so good?
That is the question being asked by many people and teams around the nation; and their secret is Caitlin Clark. Her versatility leads to conversions on almost every drive. She can pass, she can shoot, she can play defense… what can’t she do?
Image courtesy of The New York Times
Is basketball a physical sport?
“Now everybody looks like a sumo wrestler half the time” - North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
As basketball has grown as a sport, the players have gotten bigger. Not only are they tall, but now players are prioritizing muscle mass to increase their presence on the court. This has lead to a more physical style of play, and in turn more injuries on the court. We can see this in all levels of the sport, but let’s focus in on Iowa’s last two games of the tournament.
Iowa vs South Carolina
For those who watched the Iowa vs South Carolina game on Friday March 31st, 2023, you know how physical basketball can get. Anytime the ball was shot, elbows were thrown, and the shoving commenced, all for the goal of collecting the rebound. Although Caitlin Clark did put on 8lbs of muscle during off season, she is still a smaller athlete compared to the girls on her team and the girls in the league.
Her size lets her slip by defenders and fly up and down the court, but it does have its drawbacks. She can be bounced around, shoved back and even knocked to the ground. Let that happen a few times per game, 36 games a year, and those bumps and bruises can add up.
Iowa vs LSu
Although this game was not as physical as the South Carolina game, we still saw the players getting physical on the court. This physicality visibly led to some frustration on the court by Clark. We can see that frustration on the loose call of a technical foul late into the third quarter. They were behind, and that stress started to mount.
Image courtesy of Yahoo Sports
Lets talk about brain injury
Two major things can lead to brain injury: wounding of the brain due to concussion and chronic stress. Both of these causes are commonly seen in athletes of all sports. In the case of Caitlin Clark and womens basketball as a whole, we can commonly see both of those manifest in these athletes. If you or your child have experienced a blow to the head, it is imperative you get them under hyperbaric care. HBOT is the only known treatment for brain injury and timing is everything. Call our office at 515-212-5715 or fill out our contact form below to get access to this revolutionary treatment.
A Case For Concussion
Diagnosis of a concussion is a subjective diagnosis. What that means is that there is no one definitive test to say yes or no. Science is advancing, and testing is getting better, but still it isn’t perfect. The brain is highly susceptible to injury, even a sneeze can lead to some damage.
On multiple instances in the season, Caitlin was knocked to the ground, where her head made contact with the floor. This alone can lead to brain injury.
1/3 of all concussions occur at practice. Outside of her time on camera on the court, how many times has she fallen or hit her head in practice?
After a concussion, our brain and body cannot communicate as well, which leads to other downstream injuries.
You are 3.7 times more likely to tear an ACL and meniscus after a brain injury.
You are more easily prone to frustration and outbursts. We all experience some frustration at some point, but a healthy brain can manage that without having an outburst.
Image courtesy of Getty Images
A Case For Chronic Stress
We all experience stress on a day to day basis. That stress can range from “What am I going to have for dinner?” to “How am I going to pay my mortgage?”. Both of these are stressors to the brain and body, but certain thoughts act on our primal brain, which is associated with basic survival instinct. These stressors send a signal to the body to release cortisol, a stress hormone, and to stop all unnecessary bodily functions. This impedance of bodily functions can lead to less blood flow to the brain and rapid breathing (leading to a low oxygen environment). This can result in damage the brain and other organs.
Now we know how chronic stress can impact the brain, lets look at what Caitlin Clark was going through in the past two games.
Imagine training for something your entire life, then getting the opportunity to showcase your talent on the big stage. Do you think that would be stressful? The reputation of not only your team, but your school and state are riding on your ability to go out and perform. That stress must be quite large, and I am sure it weighed heavy on Caitlin Clark’s mind going into the final four.
This stress no doubt impacted her ability to think, lead to an increased rate of breathing AND even impacted her sleep. All of these things over time will lead to injury to the brain.
How Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can help Caitlin Clark become a champion
Have you ever experienced complete mental Clarity?
Most people struggle to organize their thoughts, let alone fully clear their mind. This is what separates a champion from an athlete. Everyone at the collegiate level is a great athlete, they wouldn’t have been asked to play if they weren’t. What separates the true champions from the everyday athletes is mindset.
How do athletes create a champions mindset
It all starts with basic brain health.
If there is damage to the brain, thoughts cannot travel from one side of the brain to the other. For more information on brain health and how injury impacts our ability to think, read our page on brain injury. Brain damage has many people dealing with a stacked deck before they can ever make it to a competitive level.
HBOT And Brain Health
If Caitlin Clark were to utilize HBOT in her training, we could see an increase in her ability to remain level headed during competition, make better leadership decisions on the court, and make those clutch shots. This can help take her from an amazing athlete to a national champion. For more information on Brain Health and how to experience hyperbaric oxygen therapy for yourself, contact our office at 515-212-5715 or fill out our contact form here.