At Hyperbaric Medical Solutions, we spend much of our day talking about, and experiencing, the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or Hyperbaric Medicine, with our patients. However, we also find ourselves very often explaining just exactly what it is and how it works. When asked to identify fields of medicine, most people would start off with Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Others may mention specialties such as Neurology, Cardiology, Nephrology, Oncology, Urology, or Orthopedics. Still others might add Podiatry, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, and Nutrition. The list could go on and on, but how many would list Hyperbaric Medicine? The answer is, very few.
Hyperbaric Medicine, which is often referred to as HBOT, is the study of the reaction of the body to 100% oxygen with the addition of increased pressure. Essentially, HBOT involves the ability of oxygen to be used as a drug in the body. Oxygen is one of the most plentiful elements that exists in our world, making up about 21% of the air we breathe and is a major component of water, where the addition of the oxygen molecule, along with two Hydrogen molecules, makes water (H2O). It’s obvious and well-accepted that Oxygen is the body’s most essential element.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that HBOT – using 100% oxygen under pressure – has been shown to influence over 5,000 genes in our body. HBOT increases the release of stem cells; HBOT promotes the production of new blood vessels; HBOT serves as a very potent anti-inflammatory agent; HBOT prevents premature cell death; HBOT strengthens the immune system; and HBOT generally promotes healing. Perhaps most importantly, HBOT is all natural and has very few risks, side effects, and contraindications.
...HBOT is a natural treatment that rapidly reverses low oxygen levels and influences over 5,000 genes.
HBOT has a simple, yet impactful, method to improve healing – by delivering this most essential nutrient to a part or parts of the body that aren’t otherwise receiving oxygen and therefore aren’t having the same opportunity for healing. This is a vital mechanism in difficult non-healing wounds, tissue damage from radiation therapy, carbon monoxide poisoning, severe infections, and trauma. Moreover, fascinating research is ongoing and very encouraging about the extent to which HBOT may help other conditions. Studies have shown benefits in the use of HBOT in the treatment of strokes, traumatic brain injuries, concussions, Multiple Sclerosis, Lyme Disease, chronic pain syndromes, fibromyalgia, and other autoimmune diseases, just to name a few. In fact, in other parts of the world, HBOT is routinely used for these indications with very positive results.
We at Hyperbaric Medical Solutions are helping to pave the way to the future, using HBOT for many of these conditions that have been shown to resist more traditional treatment.
