No one should ever have to live with chronic pain. Unfortunately, thousands of people across the country suffer from chronic pain disorders. From Chronic Regional Pain Disorder and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome and Lyme Disease, chronic pain and central nervous system conditions can be a living nightmare. The body should never have to endure such unrelenting pain.
However, there is hope. One option available for patients who suffer from these kinds of illnesses are hyperbaric oxygen treatments. What is hyperbaric oxygen treatment? Hyperbaric oxygen treatments refer to the medical practice of exposing a person to high levels of oxygen for an extended period of time. This is normally done by increasing the air pressure two to three times higher than normal atmospheric pressure, which allows the body to increase its oxygen absorption. Most treatments occur in what’s known as a “hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber,” which, as the name suggests, is a hard-shelled pressured vessel that can fit either one person or several. It is essentially a decompression chamber, which makes sense considering hyperbaric oxygen treatments are also used to treat decompression sickness.
The way hyperbaric oxygen treatments work is simple. The oxygen gained from the treatment is circulated in the blood throughout the body. The surplus of oxygen helps in fighting bacteria, strengthening the immune system, and encouraging the release of growth factors and stem cells, which helps the body’s healing process. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment is prominently used in chronic pain management but is also useful in treating conditions such as central nervous system disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, radiation necrosis, and even AIDS.
The treatment itself usually takes about two hours, if not shorter, and hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers make sure to do everything they can to make the patient comfortable. After all, the whole point of the treatment is to manage and even eradicate pain. You might as well be comfortable while doing it.