Inflammation following an injury, surgery or from illness (disease) is very destructive. Any short or long term inflammation or edema compresses blood vessels and restricts the flow of blood, and oxygen to the affected area. Until the body can decrease or eliminate the inflammation, blood flow to the tissues and cells is disrupted. Oxygen deprived tissues are slow to heal or cannot heal.
The air we normally breathe is 21% oxygen and is almost exclusively carried by the red blood cells. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a method of administering pure oxygen under pressure (in a chamber) to a patient and that allows the fluids (cerebral fluid, spinal fluid, blood plasma, cellular fluid) in the body to absorb oxygen and improve tissue oxygenation. Higher concentration of oxygen reaches the blood plasma, organs, injured muscle, bone tissue, damaged tendons and joints, supporting the body’s natural healing process at a much faster rate. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy also enhances growth of new blood vessels, increased ability of white blood cells to fight infection and increase growth of cells involved in wound healing.
Benefits of HBOT during Healing:
- Reduces swelling and pain
- Prevents Hypoxia of the traumatized tissues
- Speeds up the healing of tissues, ligaments and fractured bones
- Reduces scar tissue formation and damage
- Prevent surgery infections
Loss of function of the affected area may also be considered as a sign of inflammation, thus hyperbarics will increase function of the injured area.
A patient who undergoes hyperbaric therapy because of an injury, surgery or because of the effects of illness may heal where otherwise they wouldn’t or they may heal up to 40% faster. The healing occurs because the body has all the oxygen it needs to repair the injured site. Healing is faster and more thorough.
The sooner the therapy occurs after an injury the greater chance of a full recovery!
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is recognized to treat 13 different medical conditions in Canada and over 100 conditions worldwide, ranging from stroke recovery, circulatory disorders, heart disease, infections and all forms of healing. All conditions have one thing in common: the affected areas are not getting enough life-sustaining oxygen.
