Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

HBOT involves breathing normally in a highly pressurized room or pod. The nature of this room means the lungs are able to take in much more oxygen than you would be capable of doing with normal air pressure. This increases the flow of oxygenated blood, which in turn promotes the natural healing and detoxification of diseased tissues. In addition, this process also stimulates the release of stem cells to help support your healing process. To put it simply, HBOT supports the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

HBOT can seem intimidating at first, but it’s simpler to understand than one may think. There are two different ways to experience hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a monoplace pod and a multiplace pod. We utilize what is called a monoplace pod. This means the hyperbaric pod is designed for one person. The pod looks similar to an MRI machine, and gives you more than enough room to lie down comfortably.

The key difference between HBOT in a monoplace pod and a multiplace pod is that a multiplace pod requires you to breathe pure oxygen through a mask.

Alternatively, a monoplace pod seals itself safely so that the concentrated oxygen (97%) fills the pod, and you can breathe normally as if you were in a regular room.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments usually last one hour. The number of treatments you’ll need can vary widely and will depend on the specific condition that is being treated.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can be an instrumental treatment for a variety of different conditions that range in scale and severity. HBOT became more widely recognized for the role it can play in helping patients recover from decompression sickness, which can happen when scuba diving; however, HBOT is still a key therapy for countless other problems that many patients may face (1).

Much like exterior wounds that won’t heal, your brain can also be incredibly slow to recover from a traumatic injury, such as a concussion. Your joints and soft tissue can suffer from this same extended healing (3). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can streamline the recovery process by increasing oxygen in the bloodstream to promote innate healing.

HBOT can also be instrumental in treating a variety of other conditions, including but not limited to:

• Arthritis
• Crush injuries
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke

Both the brain and the body stand to benefit greatly from an increased oxygen flow through the bloodstream, thanks to HBOT. For some conditions, HBOT alone can restore the body to ideal function. For other conditions, your hyperbaric oxygen therapy should be applied in conjunction with other treatments to provide the best results.

One of the most popular uses for this therapy is to treat certain mental health disorders like depression. While studies are continuously done to determine the link between depression and this therapy, it has been studied that this kind of treatment mobilizes stem cells, which impacts certain neurotransmitters which are linked to depression and mood regulation (4).

Another popular use for HBOT is for its effectiveness in treating spinal cord injuries and some of the hindrances in nerve function and mood that accompany an injury like this one. It has been shown in a study that, after eight weeks of treatment, HBOT treated issues like anxiety and depression and significantly improved nerve function (5).

Since we are based in sunny Texas, we understand more than anyone else that the sun damages the skin in a way that both ages people more quickly and can cause serious skin damage. A recent study has shown that exposure to environments with higher levels of oxygen help reduce the level of wrinkling formation and epidermal thickness after receiving UV radiation. This means that hyperbaric oxygen therapy for anti-aging is something to consider along with similar therapy for cancer treatment of the skin.