Episode Details

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.’”

Jessi