Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is the therapeutic use of oxygen at a higher than atmospheric pressure.
This increased pressure, combined with an increase in oxygen up to 100 percent, dissolves oxygen in the blood plasma and in all body cells, tissues and fluids at up to 10-20 times normal concentration.
Physicians and scientists have used increased atmospheric pressure for medical therapy for hundreds of years. Though not new, HBOT has recently gained importance for treatment of chronic degenerative health problems related to atherosclerosis, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, diabetic ulcers, wound healing, cerebral palsy, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration, and many other disorders. Wherever blood flow and oxygen delivery to vital organs is reduced, function and healing can be aided with HBOT. When the brain is injured by stroke, CP, or trauma, HBOT may activate stunned parts of the brain to restore function.
Some of the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber Therapy are :
– greatly increases oxygen concentration in all body tissues, even with reduced or blocked blood flow;
– stimulates the growth of new blood vessels to locations with reduced circulation, improving blood flow to areas with arterial blockage;
– causes a rebound arterial dilation, resulting in an increased blood vessel diameter greater than when therapy began, improving blood flow to compromised organs;
– stimulates an adaptive increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD), one of the body’s principal, internally produced antioxidants and free radical scavengers; and,
– aids the treatment of infection by enhancing white blood cell action.
Coast Oxygen Terrigal is excited to now be offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Sessions last one hour and involve lying comfortably within a pressurised chamber breathing 97% oxygen. The process is entirely safe, with the pressure being the equivalent of being 4 meters underwater. Like taking off on a plane or scuba diving, there is some pressure on the ears at the beginning and end of each session.
