Overview Of Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy

Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy (HBOT) is a specific type of medical treatment where the patient has their entire body subjected to a pressurized 100% oxygen environment. The amount of pressure is different with each type of targeted condition with the overall goal of infusing oxygen into the entire body. This infusion, within the pressurized environment, not only enhances the circulatory system but literally pushes oxygen into the plasma of the cells, the lymph nodes, the bodily organs, the fluids of the central nervous system, and even the bone. Just as the white blood cells in the body heal, repair, and maintain all of these organs and bodily systems, the hyperbaric chamber’s pressurized oxygen enhances the performance of the white blood cells, allowing them access to all parts of the body, and bringing about renewed health and healing to HBOT patients.

HBOT treatments were originally designed as a specific treatment for decompression sickness in deep sea divers. The treatments would subject the diver to a pressurized pure oxygen environment where the residual bubbles of gas in their tissues, the source of their decompression sickness, would be dissolved and eliminated through the infusion of the oxygen. With the success of this therapy and the understanding that oxygen is critical in the stimulation of new cells, blood vessels, and tissue growth as well as critical in healing and overall well being, that researchers began experimenting with the hyperbaric chambers and their effect on various illness and disease. Once they found that the beneficial effects of HBOT reached far beyond decompression sickness, the field of research opened up to include everything from treatments for multiple sclerosis through cerebral palsy.

Currently there are more than a dozen commonly accepted conditions, by medical associations and even Medicare, that are treated with HBOT and hundreds under research. In alternative medicine circles HBOT is being effectively used for the treatment of countless conditions that have yet to prove themselves and be accepted through the slow bureaucratic governmental process. Yet it is fortunate that HBOT is non-chemical and a non-drug treatment enabling patients access to HBOT therapies while the Government and insurance companies continue to research and decide which of the additional HBOT treatments should be approved and covered. In the meantime thousands of patients across the globe enjoy the benefits and healing qualities of HBOT daily. While the use of Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy for the treatment of many conditions is being throughly researched and put to the test, the generalized acceptance of HBOT in medical journals and associations is increasing with each new proven therapy and undeniable peer reviewed clinical trial.