Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers (HBO chambers) have been used since the '40s. The navy used them to treat divers with decompression sickness. In recent years these chambers have been found to heal bone and muscle injuries.
Three NFL teams have purchased an HBO unit. This chamber will help heal a severe sprain. Injuries heal a lot faster because of the HBO units. The chamber compresses the air to 3atm of pressure around the injured person. The person is breathing pure oxygen through a mask. The higher air pressure in the HBO forces more oxygen to dissolve in the bloodstream. This speeds up the flow of oxygen to 15 times the usual rate. The abnormal flow causes the blood vessels in the muscles to constrics, which limits swelling in that area.
HBO therapy is also being used with clot-dissolving drugs to save heart muscle. It also helps improve the quality of life for patients who have had heart attacks. In a study, patients that did the HBO treatment and taking a drug had chest pains for about 6 hours less. Regular normal activity in the heart was gained faster in the patients that did the HBO treatment as well.
Maybe the most important use of HBO is to treat babies with hyaline-membrane disease. These babies suffer from respiratory distress because the alveoli in their lungs fail to inflate. HBO therapy has increased the chances these baabies will have normal lungs and survive.
Three NFL teams have purchased an HBO unit. This chamber will help heal a severe sprain. Injuries heal a lot faster because of the HBO units. The chamber compresses the air to 3atm of pressure around the injured person. The person is breathing pure oxygen through a mask. The higher air pressure in the HBO forces more oxygen to dissolve in the bloodstream. This speeds up the flow of oxygen to 15 times the usual rate. The abnormal flow causes the blood vessels in the muscles to constrics, which limits swelling in that area.
HBO therapy is also being used with clot-dissolving drugs to save heart muscle. It also helps improve the quality of life for patients who have had heart attacks. In a study, patients that did the HBO treatment and taking a drug had chest pains for about 6 hours less. Regular normal activity in the heart was gained faster in the patients that did the HBO treatment as well.
Maybe the most important use of HBO is to treat babies with hyaline-membrane disease. These babies suffer from respiratory distress because the alveoli in their lungs fail to inflate. HBO therapy has increased the chances these baabies will have normal lungs and survive.