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Jessica Moroux, owner of Acadiana Hyperbarics in Lafayette, joins Discover Lafayette to discuss mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the personal experiences that led her to the field, and her belief in giving the body the conditions it needs to heal and function at its best.
A Lafayette native, Jessica earned her nursing degree from UL-Lafayette and began her career at Lafayette General, working on several different floors as she searched for the area of nursing that felt like the right fit. Her professional path eventually moved beyond traditional hospital care and into Rolfing, movement therapy, and integrative wellness.
Jessica credits some of that outlook to her mother, whom she describes as an early adopter of ideas that today would fall under the umbrella of integrative wellness. Long before probiotics became commonplace, Jessica remembers her mother sprinkling acidophilus on the family’s breakfast and taking an unconventional but thoughtful approach to health.
As a nurse, Jessica valued traditional medicine and its importance, but found herself increasingly drawn to prevention and helping people maintain their health before they reached the point of hospitalization.
“I really wanted to get more into preventative and optimization of health,” Jessica says. “I really wanted to help people stay out of the hospital and feel their best.”
Today, Jessica brings together those different disciplines at Acadiana Hyperbarics. A registered nurse and Certified Rolfer, she has an extensive background helping clients address musculoskeletal and sports injuries and chronic pain.
A Back Injury, a Child’s Concussion, and a New Direction
Jessica’s interest in hyperbarics was not initially driven by a business plan. It became personal.
In 2019, at age 38, she reached for her youngest daughter at an awkward angle and felt a pop and excruciating pain in her back. Imaging revealed a torn disc and two bulging discs. She saw an orthopedist, underwent physical therapy and worked to rehabilitate the injury, but eventually reached a plateau.
“I went back to my doctor and said, there’s got to be more.”
About a year later, the question of what else might be available became even more urgent when Jessica’s four-year-old son suffered a serious concussion.
Running on a neighbor’s all-purpose court, he forgot a tennis net was up, ran into it and was knocked unconscious. Jessica says he experienced short-term amnesia, headaches, irritability and problems with impulse control after the injury.
One moment in particular changed the trajectory of her work. “He came in and he had big fat tears rolling down his face and said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to have anger issues.’”
Jessica remembers thinking, “Okay, we’re gonna fix this.”
She began researching brain recovery and became interested in hyperbaric therapy. That research eventually grew into a professional focus, particularly around traumatic brain injuries and concussions.
Her son, now 12 at the time of our interview, is doing well. “He is doing phenomenally. He’s the most charming, intelligent kiddo.”
And because, as Jessica laughingly puts it, he remains “wild, all out,” hyperbarics has remained part of the family’s approach to recovery from his various sports injuries, including breaking his ankle twice in one year.
What Is Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
For people familiar with hospital-based hyperbaric chambers, particularly their longtime use for decompression sickness and certain serious wounds, the chamber at Acadiana Hyperbarics looks different.
Jessica uses a Vitaeris 320 soft-sided monoplace chamber. According to the clinic, the chamber operates at 1.3 ATA and is 32 inches in diameter and 92 inches long. Acadiana Hyperbarics offers filtered room air as well as an oxygen concentrator option.
Jessica describes the experience as similar to the pressure changes you feel on an airplane. During pressurization and depressurization, clients may notice their ears popping or experience sinus pressure. Once the chamber reaches pressure, she says most people largely stop noticing it.
Sessions at Acadiana Hyperbarics are offered in 60- and 90-minute increments. Jessica says she screens clients before treatment, asks about their health history and discusses whether the therapy is an appropriate fit for what they hope to accomplish.
While people often think hyperbarics is simply about getting a large amount of oxygen, Jessica says pressure is central to the process. Under increased pressure, more oxygen can dissolve into blood plasma, providing an additional route for oxygen delivery beyond oxygen carried by red blood cells.
She describes hyperbarics as having several “mechanisms of action,” including angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, as well as effects involving inflammation, collagen, stem cells, mitochondrial function and cellular signaling.
For Jessica, the distinction between supporting healing and promising a cure is important. “We are just sending signals and changing some of the physics within the body to let the body do what it does best and to remove some of the barriers.”
“Hyperbarics is a fantastic therapy for helping the brains heal and major NFL athletes and teams are now turning to it to help with CTE and concussions.”
Why Repetition Matters
Jessica explains that some of the effects people experience may be relatively immediate, while tissue repair and other biological processes take time. That is why, depending upon a client’s circumstances, hyperbaric therapy may involve a series of sessions rather than a single visit.
She also emphasizes the period after a session. Her explanation is that repeated transitions between the higher-oxygen environment associated with treatment and normal atmospheric conditions can stimulate biological responses involved in repair.
“If you have multiple exposures, then your body says, okay, this is a real deal. We’re going to spend that energy and turn on all those processes.”
Jessica’s own back injury helped her think about hyperbarics through what she calls “reverse engineering.” She wanted to understand why disc injuries can become chronic and then ask what processes might support healing.
Her personal experience with that injury ultimately helped move hyperbarics from something that was “somewhat on my radar” into the focus of a new business.
The “Mighty Mitochondria”
Our conversation also gets down to the cellular level as Jessica explains mitochondria, the structures within cells responsible for producing ATP, the energy cells use to perform their work.
She calls them the “mighty mitochondria.”
“For any function within the body, you have to pay for it, right? You have to have a currency. For a car to drive, you’ve got to have fuel. Same thing with your cells.”
That cellular energy is one reason oxygen is so important. Jessica also points to exercise as a way to support mitochondrial function and discusses red and infrared light therapy, another modality offered at Acadiana Hyperbarics.
The clinic uses red and infrared light pads that can be placed around targeted areas of the body. Jessica says she likes the flexibility of pads because they can conform around an injured shoulder, back or other area rather than requiring the client to lie on a rigid light bed. Acadiana Hyperbarics describes its low-level light therapy as a complementary modality that can be used alongside hyperbaric sessions.
The Vagus Nerve, Stress, and the Need to Recover
One of the most relatable parts of our conversation concerns something many of us experience every day: living in a near-constant state of stimulation.
Jessica explains the role of the vagus nerve and the balance between the sympathetic “fight or flight” response and the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.
“When you’re in fight or flight mode, you’re not repairing well,” Jessica says. “Most of us are running around constantly stimulated, answering emails, in traffic, fussing at your kid.”
The problem, she says, is that we may never adequately switch into recovery mode. “You can’t heal if you’re not getting into that mode of recovery.”
Supporting the vagus nerve doesn’t necessarily require sophisticated technology. Jessica points to simple practices including humming and breathwork as ways people can encourage the body to shift toward a calmer state.
Training and Knowing What You’re Getting
Jessica completed training through the International Hyperbarics Association and is a member of the organization. She says she attends its conference and continuing education programs each year.
That training is particularly important to her as hyperbarics and other wellness therapies become more popular. “As the wellness industry is growing and booming and this therapy is catching on, there’s a lot of providers who are wanting to throw it in as an afterthought.”
Jessica describes the therapy as generally safe when appropriately used, but stresses that providers need to understand screening, protocols and how to apply the therapy appropriately for an individual client. “More than causing further damage, you could just not apply the therapy correctly and the patient may not get what they’re looking for when paying for the treatment.”
Acadiana Hyperbarics’ own guidance also stresses client screening and identifies medical circumstances that require particular attention.. Anyone considering hyperbaric therapy for a medical condition should discuss it with an appropriate healthcare professional.
From Hospital Medicine to Wellness
Hyperbaric medicine has long been associated with conditions such as decompression sickness, the “bends” experienced by divers who surface too quickly, as well as certain serious wounds and other medical conditions. Those original hospital chambers looked much different from today’s soft-sided mild hyperbaric chamber utililzed at Jessica’s practice.
Our conversation explores the difference between those hospital applications and the wellness-oriented, largely off-label uses Jessica works with today.
She is careful to characterize hyperbarics as an adjunct rather than a replacement for appropriate medical treatment. She also acknowledges that timing matters and that not every condition or individual is a good candidate.
“For some people, if the injury is too far gone, it may not be a good fit.” That is why her process begins with a conversation rather than simply putting someone into a chamber.
Life Beyond the Chamber
When she isn’t working, Jessica’s life revolves around her family, music and travel. She and her husband are both musicians and enjoy Lafayette’s local music scene. Jessica has played violin since childhood, thanks to a mother who essentially told her quitting wasn’t an option.
“My mom started me when I was little and she kind of was like, ‘You’re not quitting, so get used to it.’”
She performed in orchestra during college and played events, although these days, between running a business and raising three children, performances are more likely to happen at home.
“Right now with the business and the kiddos, it’s mostly in the living room with the family.”
Jessica’s journey from nursing to Rolfing and ultimately Acadiana Hyperbarics has been driven by curiosity, personal experience and a desire to help people think about wellness before something is seriously wrong.
Her message is not simply about addressing an injury. It is about recovery, maintaining function and giving the body the support it needs while you are still feeling well.
Acadiana Hyperbarics is located at 708 E. University Avenue in Lafayette. Learn more about Jessica, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Rolfing and the other services she offers at https://acadianahyperbarics.com/.
