Introduction
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment that uses pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber to treat many ailments, including wounds, infections and certain cancers. It can also help to speed up healing after surgery or injury. You might have heard about oxygen therapy Sydney but not know what it is or how it works. In this article, we will answer all of your questions about this unique and effective treatment option for many common health problems.
What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is used to improve the body’s ability to heal itself. It involves breathing pressurized oxygen inside an enclosed chamber.
There are several forms of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but they all use higher levels of oxygen than you get from normal atmospheric air. The most common form is called saturation diving or chamber diving, which uses 100% oxygen at 1 atmosphere for a specific period of time.
The two other forms are:
- Reduced pressure breathing (RPB), in which patients breathe in pure oxygen at less than 1 atmosphere and then leave after a few hours; and
- Closed circuit breathing (CCB), which involves wearing a mask that recirculates the patient’s exhaled breath back into their lungs while they’re under increased pressure compared to normal atmospheric air
The Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
HBOT is a treatment option that can be used for a wide range of conditions, including:
- Wounds and infections
- Other conditions, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, radiation sickness, and decompression sickness
- Injuries to the brain or spinal cord, such as concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.
HBOT in Wound Care
With over 600,000 people in the United States suffering from wounds that do not heal, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has proven to be a safe and effective treatment for wound care. The following is a list of some of the most common conditions that can benefit from HBOT:
- Skin ulcers
- Pressure ulcers
- Diabetic ulcers
- Bed sores
- Burns, both acute and chronic wounds resulting from burns may also be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The most common injuries treated include skin graft donor sites and donor site infections, as well as radiation burns
HBOT in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
HBOT is used to accelerate healing in athletes.
- It has been successfully used to treat several conditions:
- Chronic wounds (e.g., diabetic ulcers, venous stasis ulcers)
- Chronic pain syndromes (e.g., complex regional pain syndrome and fibromyalgia)
- Sleep disorders (e.g., sleep apnea)
- It also helps athletes recover from injuries faster and return to sports more quickly by improving oxygenation of tissues and cells throughout the body, which may result in less inflammation after an injury has taken place as well as improved circulation at a cellular level. This can result in faster recovery time from injuries like muscle strains or sprains, stress fractures, tendonitis/tendinopathy/bursitis injuries like tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow etc…
HBOT in Plastic Surgery Recovery
While HBOT is most often used to treat decompression sickness, the treatment is also being used by plastic surgeons to speed up healing following surgery and improve the appearance of scars. It’s even been used to treat a variety of skin conditions, such as keloids (a type of scarring), chronic wounds, diabetic ulcers and radiation burns. The use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in plastic surgery recovery has been approved by the FDA since 1992. In fact, Dr. Steven Bowers (the inventor of HBOT) was one of the first physicians ever invited into China by Chairman Deng Xiaoping in 1980 – a meeting that eventually led to his involvement with China’s Ministry of Health.
Common Myths About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
When it comes to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), there are some common myths that people have. I’ve listed the most common misconceptions below, with the facts and realities of each one:
- HBOT is not a medical treatment. While it’s true that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been proven effective in many medical conditions and we have a lot of evidence showing this efficacy, it’s still not officially recognized by the FDA as a medical treatment. That means you can’t get HBOT from your doctor—and if you do decide to go down this route, make sure you’re getting your treatment from someone who is qualified and experienced in doing so!
- HBOT is not a drug. This misconception may be more prevalent because some people mistakenly believe that any kind of oxygen therapy must be pharmaceutical in nature; however, that’s just not true! Hyperbaric chambers offer pure O2 at much higher concentrations than normal air does (upwards of 100%), but they’re not drugs themselves either—they’re simply devices designed for delivering high-pressure air into your body through inhalation or intravenous delivery methods depending on what condition needs treating before going inside them safely without harming yourself during entry.”
Discover the surprising benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is a safe and effective treatment that can help you heal from a variety of medical conditions. It’s also been shown to be effective at treating many chronic wounds, including diabetic ulcers and pressure sores (bedsores). In addition, HBOT has proven benefits for people who suffer from sports injuries—from torn tendons to sprains and even broken bones. And because it speeds up the healing process for plastic surgery patients, HBOT has become an essential part of post-op recovery care for many cosmetic procedures as well as reconstructive surgeries like breast cancer reconstruction or surgeries for cleft lip and palate deformities in children.
Conclusion
As you can see, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has a wide range of uses. It’s one of the most effective ways to treat a wound and it can help athletes heal more quickly after an injury. Some people believe that HBOT treatments can also help with other conditions like acne and depression, but there isn’t enough research on these subjects yet. If you’re interested in learning more about how hyperbaric oxygen therapy could benefit your health then contact us today!