What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a noninvasive medical treatment administered by delivering 100% oxygen to a patient in a chamber. This is done at pressures greater than two to three times the normal atmospheric (sea level) pressure. Hyperbaric oxygen acts as a drug, eliciting varying levels of response at different dosages.

HBOT promotes healing by increasing the oxygen concentration in the body at the cellular level. HBOT uses this increased pressure and increased oxygen as a treatment for wounds anywhere in the body. This therapy treats the underlying disease processes that caused the wounding.

How Does It Work With The Body?

HBOT works cumulatively, like going to a gym. Through repetitive exposure of treatment in a hyperbaric chamber and with a short increase in pressure and oxygen, the genes in every cell in the body are stimulated to either upregulate (turn on) or down regulate (turn off). The ones that are turned on are those that code for growth and repair hormones and the anti-inflammatory genes. The ones that are turned off are the pro-inflammatory genes, the ones that code for program cell death.

You may find this animated YouTube video helpful in understanding how HBOT works.

HBOT has been approved by the FDA for a variety of conditions and has been proven effective as an adjunctive therapy for specific indications. It is used around the world. HBOT has clearly been demonstrated to drastically enhance the body’s ability to heal.