Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy is a medical treatment that enhances the body’s natural healing process by inhalation of 100% oxygen in a total body chamber where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled.

Under normal circumstances oxygen is transported throughout the body only by red blood cells. With HBO, oxygen is dissolved into all the body’s fluids, the plasma, the central nervous system fluids, the lymph, and bone, and can be carried to areas where circulation is diminished or blocked.

In this way, extra oxygen can reach all of the damaged tissues and the body can support its own healing process. The increased oxygen greatly enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduces local swelling and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly into the affected areas.

It is a simple, non-invasive and painless treatment. However, all aspects of your condition should be discussed with the HBO health provider in the event that some pre-existing conditions or concurrent therapies may not be suitable for HBO.

While this treatment has been around for over 50 years, an attitude of mistrust and apprehension over this therapy has existed, even among the medical community.

The origins and development of HBOT are closely tied to the history of diving medicine, but recent research reveals new and exciting applications in the management of chronic illnesses of the brain, spinal cord and related neuro-vascular infectious disorders.

MRI and SPECT diagnostic tests performed as a pre and post hyperbaric evaluation have provided valuable insights into the mechanisms and actions of hyperbaric medicine through oxygenation.

Spinal Rehabilitation Group, Melbourne, Australia
www.spinalrehab.com.au

Hbot Online
www.hbot.com