One of our most fundamental connections to life is the assimilation of oxygen from the air we breathe into every tissue in our bodies. Without oxygen, and its ability to spark our body’s life-giving process of creating cellular energy, we could not survive. For centuries, physicians have used oxygen in a healing capacity, and at least as far back as the 1600s began experimenting with the effect of putting patients into a pressurized, or hyperbaric, environment for the purpose of stimulating healing.
Many have heard of hyperbaric oxygen for the purpose of treating decompression sickness, or “the bends,” for divers who have ascended too quickly. In these instances, hyperbaric oxygen is a lifesaving therapy that helps resolve excess nitrogen accumulated in body tissues. Over the last century however, the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber has expanded to treat a long list of health conditions, by the simple fact that increasing levels of oxygen in tissues can have a profound healing effect.
There is a principle of gas physics (Henry’s law) that essentially says that as pressure is increased, the amount of gas dissolved into liquid will also increase. This is why hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) works. Blood plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and other interstitial fluids, as well as red blood cells, are saturated with oxygen while an individual is in a HBOT chamber.
Because our cellular machinery for energy production (mitochondria) rely on oxygen for every biochemical transaction, HBOT can be extremely effective in stimulating the body’s self-healing processes. Of the many conditions that HBOT can help with, I have seen post-concussion syndrome, the group of debilitating symptoms that can persist after one has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), respond the most consistently and favorably.
Studies have shown that a series of treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber can directly address the effects of hypoxia and neuro-inflammation that cause post-concussion syndrome, improving mitochondrial function in injured neurons and supporting the overall resolution of TBI symptoms. Participants in a 2017 study reported improvements in memory, anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms, as well as overall cognitive function and quality of life measurements. SPECT brain imaging in this and other studies demonstrate improved brain function from hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
The FDA has approved only a relatively narrow list of conditions for HBOT, including severe burns, radiation injuries from oncologic treatment, serious non-healing wounds and a handful of others. Over the last several decades, however, research and clinical trials have demonstrated a much more extensive list of conditions that can benefit from this therapy. Post-stroke recovery, Alzheimer’s and dementia and even the neuro-inflammation associated with autism are just a few of those conditions that have benefitted from the application of HBOT. Inflammation associated with sports injuries can also benefit, and many individuals will report more mental clarity overall and a general improved sense of well-being.
Because decreasing inflammation in body tissues is one of the main reasons this treatment works, its benefits can be applied to many acute and chronic health conditions. For a more comprehensive list and additional resources, visit the International Hyperbarics Association website.
Side effects to this therapy can occur, and some pre-existing health issues prevent certain individuals from being good candidates. Therefore, it is important to have a thorough conversation with one’s physician to discuss whether this therapy could prove helpful. Typically, a series of 60- to 90-minute sessions are required to achieve results, with a duration of anywhere from 10 to 40 sessions. Because insurance coverage often does not exist, the cost of this therapy can, in some cases, also be a barrier.
Despite these issues, hyperbaric oxygen therapy continues to be both a life-saving therapy as well as an important consideration to help address many acute and chronic health conditions. While medical and biotech research continues to develop an endless array of drug therapies, it’s refreshing to know that such a simple and elegant therapy can have so much benefit on health and well-being — a therapy that relies only on one of life’s most abundant and available molecules: oxygen.
—Joshua Phillips, ND, is a naturopathic physician and the director at Hawthorn Healing Arts Center in Bend. He can be reached at docnaturecure@gmail.com with questions or comments.
This article appears in Source Weekly December 19, 2024.
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