Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy, HBOT, is a specialized form of medical treatment
administered by delivering 100% pure oxygen to a patient
through increased atmospheric pressure ranging from 1.3-2.0
ATA. in an our hard hyperbaric chamber.
At pressures
greater than normal, the body is able to
incorporate more oxygen into blood cells,
blood plasma, cerebral-spinal fluid and other
bodily fluids. The pressure difference allows
the oxygen to penetrate even in areas not
served by blood vessels. The increased oxygen
absorption significantly enhances the body's
ability to aid in its own healing.
Once a person is in
the increased atmospheric pressure the body
responds by reducing inflammation. With the
inflammation reduced the blood flow increases
the delivery of oxygen to oxygen deprived
areas.
It's at
this point that the healing process is
accelerated.
The body's natural healing mechanisms can now
function efficiently because the damaged
tissues are receiving more oxygen. Even when
the blood supply has been compromised,
tissues can still receive the healing
benefits of oxygen from other body fluids and
plasma in the surrounding area.
What does
HBOT do to the body?
- Decreased Inflammation
- Saturates the body
with oxygen, including the plasma and white
cells, increasing the oxygen level by
20-30%.
- Increases the body's
ability to fight infection.
- Creates new
capillaries and increases blood flow.
- Clears and deactivates
toxins and metabolic waste from the body.
- Stimulates the body to
create new blood cells
- Increases the body's
production of stem cells 800% (after 40
treatments)
- Accelerates the rate
of healing
Hyperbaric
oxygen therapy is not new.
In fact, the concept of Hyperbaric Medicine
has been around since the 1800’s. Since then,
hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used
around the world to successfully treat a wide
variety of medical conditions.
In 1937 hyperbaric oxygen treatments were
first used for decompression sickness but it
was not until 1956 that interest in
hyperbaric medicine really heated up. In
Amsterdam that year, Dr. I Boerema reported
that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) was a
therapeutic aid in cardiopulmonary surgery.
Shortly after his colleague's discovery, W.H.
Brummelkamp, published a discovery of his
own: anaerobic infections were inhibited by
hyperbaric therapy.
International interest was rekindled when in
1962, reports of the enormous benefits of
HBOT in the treatment of carbon monoxide
poisoning were published. These discoveries
and more, pushed hyperbaric medicine into the
modern era. Installations of hyperbaric units
quickly began at some of the most revered and
prestigious medical centers in the United
States. A few of these early adopters were
Harvard Children's Hospital, New York Sinai
Hospital, Duke University, and Good Samaritan
Hospital in Los Angeles.
Fast
Forward to the Era of Modern Hyperbarics.
The advent of modern imaging technologies
such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography
(SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography
(PET) , have provided researchers
unprecedented insights into the actions and
mechanisms of hyperbaric oxygenation and its
effect on tissue. It's no coincidence that
the most significant, documented advancements
in Hyperbaric Medicine have emerged recently
in large part due to pre- and post-
hyperbaric therapy evaluation using these
high-tech tools.
As hyperbaric
research continues, scientists are finding
that neurological conditions, stroke and
brain injuries, all previously considered to
have poor prognoses, respond well to HBOT.
Successful
treatment with hyperbaric for conditions as
diverse as autism, fibromyalgia, multiple
sclerosis, side-effects of chemotherapy and
radiation toxicity in cancer patients have
growing numbers of researchers, physicians,
patients and their families believing in the
power and efficacy of HBOT.
We are pleased to be the only Hyperbaric Center
offering off-label (non-FDA approved)
treatments in Southern Oregon!