Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is done in a decompression chamber. It is most commonly used by divers to treat air embolisms (air bubbles in the blood) after a dive. Many of the chambers are located in popular diving areas for this very reason. As the medical community studies this treatment, they are finding other illnesses may also benefit from oxygen saturation. Any areas of the body that normally do not get a lot of oxygen or have been oxygen-deprived can benefit from HBOT.
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What Is It?
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HBOT is a medical treatment applied inside a hyperbaric chamber. The chamber itself is pumped full of 100% oxygen at an atmospheric rate that is higher than normal atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled by a doctor or trained technician to be about two-and-a-half times greater than normal atmospheric pressure. It is considered an inhalation therapy and is used for a wide variety of treatments, particularly air embolisms.
How Does It Work?
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Normally oxygen moves through the body only by way of your red blood cells. With HBOT, the oxygen is pushed into all of the body's fluids--the plasma, lymph, central nervous system fluids, as well as the bones and ligaments--where blood flow is lacking. The lack of blood flow to shoulder and knee injuries can make them harder to heal. By using HBOT, additional oxygen can reach the damaged areas and assist tissues and the body to heal faster. Increased oxygen flow enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduces inflammation and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly in the affected areas. It is easy, noninvasive and improves your quality of life if standard medicine is not working.
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Benefits
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Most people have only heard of using a hyperbaric chamber for the "bends," another name for sickness brought on by an air embolism. But many other conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy, head injuries and chronic fatigue have all benefited by HBOT. Macular degeneration has also been alleviated, as have any disease associated with oxygen deprivation. Healing of some areas of the body cannot take place without appropriate oxygen levels in the tissue. Illnesses or injuries often linger at the cellular or tissue level, thereby taking longer to heal. In many cases, such as with circulatory issues or nonhealing wounds, adequate oxygen levels cannot reach the damaged area in order to heal naturally. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides this extra oxygen naturally and with minimal side effects.
Stem Cell Increases
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HBOT assists your own stem cells to regenerate damaged tissues, which is crucial to accelerated healing. These progenitor stem cells (not to be confused with embryonic stem cells) are crucial to the repair of injured tissues and organs. In response to injury, stem cells move out of bone marrow to the injured sites, where they differentiate into specialized cells that are important to the healing process. Stem cells from bone marrow are capable of providing specialized functions in many different organs and tissues throughout the body. This movement, or mobilization, of stem cells can be triggered by a variety of stimuli---including pharmaceutical agents and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments increase by eightfold the number of circulating stem cells throughout the body.
Who Pays?
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Insurance and Medicare consider payment for some conditions, but you need to check with your carrier if you are interested in pursuing HBOT. Many doctors are not trained in this area and may not bring it up to you as a treatment option. The benefits can be great with minimal risk, compared with the option of being on medications with their many side effects. If you have a wound that is not healing properly or a joint injury that is taking forever to improve, HBOT may be worth looking into.
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