6 Benefits of Hyperbaric Chamber for Wound Care Patients

6 Benefits of Hyperbaric Chamber for Wound Care Patients

You don’t need a reminder that oxygen is essential to life, but did you realize the role of oxygen in your body doesn’t start and stop in your lungs? Other than helping you breathe, a continuous supply of oxygen is also critical for wound and injury healing.

However, the oxygen you inhale on a daily basis isn’t always enough to stimulate deep healing. So how can you nourish your cells and tissues with the concentrated oxygen needed to reverse your injuries and improve your health?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the answer. This safe and natural alternative therapy uses the power of pressurized oxygen to revitalize and regenerate your body’s innate healing system. The following six hyperbaric chamber benefits demonstrate the true value of HBOT as a treatment for a wide range of injuries, wounds, and other health problems.

Why Is Oxygen so Important for Successful Wound Healing?

Most of the core functions involved in wound healing are oxygen-dependent, so it makes sense that increasing oxygen in the body can support the wound-healing process.

There’s no one single reason that certain parts of the body become deprived of oxygen. Instead, it’s a complex problem of supply and demand. Many factors have the potential to decrease the supply of oxygen into the blood and cells, including heart disease, radiation therapy, and tissue inflammation.

It’s also possible for oxygen demand to surge in response to the body’s needs and ultimately outpace oxygen supply. Think of it as oxygen economics within the body!

What Are the Benefits of a Hyperbaric Chamber?

Scientific research has firmly established the benefits of hyperbaric chamber oxygen therapy, and have affirmed that it is a valuable treatment for patients experiencing a wide range of problems, but how does it really work to fight wounds and injuries?

The true science of HBOT reveals impressive hyperbaric chamber benefits to the body. Each of the following benefits allows HBOT to deliver significant and lasting results.

Decreased Edema

The condition of edema occurs when too much water fluid accumulates in the cavities or tissues of the body. Edema can occur anywhere, from the brain (cerebral edema) to the heart (pulmonary edema). Since edema increases tissue pressure and restricts circulation, it automatically stunts wound recovery.

HBOT decreases edema since it stimulates better circulation. The fluids built up inside the body can move through the body to be filtered and eliminated. As a result, injured tissues become better oxygenated and healing can finally continue.

Tissue Hyperoxygenation

When tissue becomes hyperoxygenated through HBOT treatment, it becomes saturated with the oxygen known to stimulate healing. Hyperoxygenated tissues undergo reepithelialization, which is an increase in the epithelial cells responsible for closing wounds and forming a barrier on the skin.

Research shows that tissue hyperoxygenation through HBOT can increase the rate of wound closure by as much as 69 percent! This is an especially powerful benefit for adults with diabetes who are at higher risk of non-healing wounds.

Enhanced Antibacterial Activity By Leukocytes

When the body becomes flooded with oxygen through a treatment like HBOT, antibacterial activity immediately increases. Leukocytes, a type of white blood cell, gain strength and momentum from oxygen. They’re able to more effectively kill dangerous bacteria and free radicals while also removing dead cellular debris. Studies show that leukocytes perform best at oxygen levels above 300 mmHg, levels only achievable with supplemental oxygen through HBOT.

Increased Angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is the essential function of creating new blood vessels. Without angiogenesis, tissue cannot survive or undergo repair after injury. Since oxygen levels in the body directly influence the rate and quality of angiogenesis, only a treatment like HBOT can directly stimulate and improve the creation of new blood vessels.

HBOT also supports optimal collagen synthesis, one of the most vital components of blood vessel development. Collagen is the primary component of skin and accounts for as much as 80% of our skin’s dry weight. It functions as the structural scaffold of skin by organizing itself into bundles of interwoven fibers. Collagen can’t develop without collagen, and new capillary tubes can’t gain strength without collagen.

All of this makes oxygen absolutely necessary for any level of healing within the body.

Synergistic Effects With Antibiotics

Doctors prescribe antibiotics to combat bacterial infections in the body, but antibiotics can’t always sustain results alone. Research indicates that HBOT works synergistically with antibiotics as an adjunctive treatment.

In other words, HBOT maximizes the effects of antibiotics by optimizing oxygen levels in the body and enhancing leukocytes to kill dangerous bacteria. Some studies even show that the length of time using antibiotic therapy can be reduced with the use of HBOT.

Stimulate Growth Factors

When HBOT treatment saturates the body with 100% pure oxygen, the growth factors in blood platelets become activated. Growth factors are extremely powerful proteins that regulate growth and differentiation of cells in the body. They also stimulate the major components of wound healing like leukocytes and fibroblast. Since HBOT stimulates growth factor activity, it in turn nurtures the best conditions for wound healing.

This is exactly why HBOT has become so popular for athletes with injuries. They don’t want to sit out on the bench for weeks or months before returning to play. HBOT gives athletes the opportunity to accelerate their healing process and get back on the field. 
These six hyperbaric oxygen therapy benefits demonstrate the incredible power of pressurized oxygen to rejuvenate, heal, and revitalize the body’s core functions. A series of HBOT treatments can transform the body and reverse chronic injuries.

How Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Administered?

Hyperbaric therapy used to create an unpleasant experience in small chambers that felt more like coffins than medical treatments. However, today’s HBOT technology is so advanced that it’s a relaxing and enjoyable experience

Once you’re in the hyperbaric chamber, you’ll relax in a comfortable cotton gown with pillows and blankets as the atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels gradually increase. The treatment is painless, although you may experience a sensation of pressure in your ears, very similar to the sensation you feel in an airplane while descending. During your treatment, which lasts about one and a half to two hours, you can sleep, watch TV, listen to music, or just relax.

Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Safe?

Absolutely! Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a time-tested treatment that was developed in the 1600s. It’s been used for medical treatments since the 19th century, especially for divers suffering decompression sickness. Since HBOT is strictly regulated, patients experience very few side effects or problems after treatment.

Furthermore, hyperbaric wound care offers a safe, natural, and efficient medical therapy for non-healing wounds and other conditions that resist standard treatments. It uses nothing but carefully regulated 100% oxygen at pressures above regular atmospheric pressure, so the risk of complications is very low.