Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

What is Hyperbaric?

During HBOT, the patient lies relaxed in a special chamber where both the pressure and oxygen levels are raised. This high-pressure, oxygen-rich environment helps deliver more oxygen molecules to damaged or injured tissues, which speeds up the healing process. Typical sessions are 60 minutes.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) offers several key benefits:

  • Enhanced Healing: HBOT can accelerate the healing process for various types of wounds, such as rotator cuff repair surgery, by stimulating new blood vessel growth, stimulating stem cell release, and collagen production.
  • Reduced Inflammation and pain: Increased oxygen and pressure reduces inflammatory cytokines, increases the anti-inflammatory cytokines, and reduces swelling by constricting dilated vessels. These are beneficial for pain reduction following surgery, or helping reduce the inflammation from chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or long covid.
  • Improved Oxygenation: HBOT immediately increases the amount of oxygen carried to the body’s tissues, which can benefit organs and tissues that are not receiving enough oxygen due to an injury or poor lung function.
  • Microbiome balance for certain Infections: HBOT creates an oxygen-rich environment that is inhospitable to anaerobic bacteria.

Overall, HBOT offers a non-invasive option to assist the body’s own natural healing processes, with the potential to improve outcomes for a range of conditions. However, its effectiveness can vary depending on the specific symptoms and individual factors.

Basic Protocols for HBOT Sessions

1-5 sessions: Boost cellular energy and enhance tissue function. Smokers or those with mild anemia or poor lung function may see immediate benefits in energy levels. Inflammation markers decrease, starting the healing process.

5-10 sessions: Recommended for recent injuries involving soft tissues, especially if there’s pain and swelling.

10-20 sessions: Suitable for more severe or chronic symptoms.

20-40 sessions: Often used for significant tissue damage, leveraging HBOT’s ability to stimulate stem cells and promote new tissue growth.

How many sessions will I need?

It varies based on your needs. Some people see benefits after just a few sessions, while others may follow a ’40-hour protocol’ for maximum benefits, which is the gold standard in research. Generally, you’ll start feeling physiological benefits within the first few sessions. The antioxidant and protective effects kick in within 24 hours of one session. Inflammation reduction is noticeable within four days. Pain relief can be powerful after just five to 10 sessions. And for promoting new blood vessel formation, it may take around 10 to 20 sessions.