Concussions, Athletes, and Oxygen: Dr. Zach Price on TBI Recovery Timelines
A chiropractor who works with pro and youth athletes in Charlotte explains how LiveO2 manipulates the vascular and nervous system to accelerate brain injury recovery.
About Dr. Zach Price
Dr. Zach Price is a chiropractor at Performance Rehab Associates in Charlotte, NC. He works with professional athletes, youth sports teams, and regular people dealing with traumatic brain injuries — whether from car accidents, contact sports, or work injuries.
He’s seen hundreds of concussion cases. He uses LiveO2 specifically to manipulate the vascular and nervous system in ways that standard chiropractic care can’t achieve alone.
What This Episode Covers
- After a brain injury, how long does it take to notice changes?
- How Dr. Zach uses LiveO2 to manipulate the vascular and nervous system
- Could vertigo and headaches after injury indicate underlying oxygen issues?
- TBI in youth athletes — what parents and coaches need to know
- How contact sports create cumulative brain stress that shows up years later
- The relationship between oxygen delivery and neurological recovery
The Oxygen-Brain Connection in TBI
When the brain is injured, the primary problem isn’t just the impact. It’s the cascade that follows. Blood vessels near the injury site constrict. Inflammation restricts oxygen delivery. The brain — which uses 20% of your body’s oxygen supply despite being only 2% of body weight — starves for fuel.
This is why TBI symptoms — brain fog, fatigue, headaches, mood changes, sleep disruption — can persist for months or years after the initial injury. The damage isn’t just the original trauma. It’s the chronic low-oxygen state that follows.
LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast addresses this by forcing high-volume, high-pressure oxygen into the bloodstream during peak cardiovascular demand. The pressure differential pushes dissolved oxygen through the blood-brain barrier into dormant brain tissue.
A 2017 review in Frontiers in Neurology found that hyperbaric and normobaric oxygen therapy both show measurable benefit in TBI recovery — with the key variable being oxygen delivery, not chamber pressure.
Common Questions
Dr. Zach discusses this in the episode. The short answer: it’s never too late. The brain’s neuroplasticity means it can continue forming new connections well beyond the traditional “12-month recovery window” that many clinicians cite. LiveO2 can support recovery even years after the original injury, as long as the underlying oxygen deficit is still present.
Vertigo following a concussion often signals dysfunction in the vestibular system — the balance centers that run through the brainstem and cerebellum. These areas are particularly sensitive to oxygen deprivation. Dr. Zach discusses how addressing the oxygen deficit can resolve symptoms that appear to be purely mechanical in origin.
Dr. Zach works with youth athletes and addresses this directly in the episode. Exercise protocols are adapted based on the individual’s current symptoms and recovery stage. The key is starting at appropriate intensity levels. Moderate aerobic exercise with oxygen is generally considered safe and beneficial for post-concussion recovery under medical supervision.
Chiropractic care addresses structural alignment and nervous system interference. LiveO2 addresses the vascular and metabolic side of neurological recovery — specifically, the oxygen deficit that persists in injured tissue. Dr. Zach combines both approaches because the structural and vascular components of TBI recovery are both real and both require attention.
Performance Rehab Associates is Dr. Zach Price’s chiropractic practice in Charlotte, NC. The practice works with professional athletes, youth sports teams, and general wellness clients. Dr. Zach integrates LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast into his recovery protocols alongside chiropractic care and functional rehabilitation.