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What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)?

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Also know as HBOT. Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy is when a person breathes 90- 100% oxygen in a pressurised environment. Oxygen is the essential 'life force' element required for all cellular growth, healing and development.

 

Many diseases and conditions such as cancer and diabetes starve the cells of oxygen leading to hypoxia, inflammation and tissue death, culminating in many life threatening conditions. It was first thought that giving patients increased oxygen would help.

 

However, harnessing the power of oxygen to heal is more complex than just breathing in pure oxygen or using specialised breathing exercises. Many years of scientific researched revealed that two factors in combination are needed for healing to occur. Oxygen given in a pressurised environment was the key to unlock the bodies natural properties to heal itself. 

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The Science: How it works

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When in the Hyperbaric oxygen chamber the pressure increases to 1.3-1.4 atmospheres. Scientist have known for a long time that gas under pressure is more likely to dissolve into liquid. At this pressure a unique and revolutionary discovery was made.

 

Oxygen doesn’t only absorb into red blood cells it also dissolves directly into the blood plasma. This discovery was a game changer because it means that patients with conditions that inhibit oxygen and nutrient exchange at the cellular level can now have this essential healing element delivered to the damaged tissues or dormant cells where Hypoxia (the lack of cellular oxygen) occurs.

 

Under pressure, increased amounts of oxygen are transferred into the plasma of your blood, which usually contains about 3% oxygen. This increases to about 97% oxygen during hyperbaric therapy, allowing oxygen to diffuse into tissue 4 times deeper than would normally be allowed. This allows tissue to heal that normally would not be able to achieve these levels of oxygen concentration.

What conditions have improved with HBOT?

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So for conditions such as Strokes, TBI, Long Covid, Cancer recovery and many more have been shown to improve with HBOT. HBOT is not a miracle cure but it does significantly enhance the bodies natural healing properties to regenerate and grow. It allows previously oxygen starved tissues to receive oxygen rich blood plasma that can combine with glucose to form ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the principal molecule for storing and transferring energy in cells. 

 

The body then directs this new source of energy to start to heal damaged cells through stem cells repair, to redirect immune response, to reduce inflammation, free radicals and oxidants and to reprogram genes to remove harmful cells and stop them reproducing. 

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