For many years, hyperbaric pressures of only 1.04 ATA were considered to be insignificant in the hyperbaric field. Moreover, pressures as high as 1.3 ATA were considered to have no extra therapeutic value and even deemed to be the "placebo dose" in many studies trying to determine the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We now have convincing evidence that this information is completely wrong! Over the past 2 decades, research has confirmed that these lower pressures actually can have large physiological benefits. From theory, to animal studies, and now to human studies; we can confirm that any pressures between 1.0 ATA and 1.3 ATA should all be considered hyperbaric therapy, delivering 'higher than normal' oxygen levels into the body. By obeying the gas-pressure laws of physics, any pressure above 1.0 ATA will allow extra oxygen to easily enter into the body. Therefore, any extra pressure is an extra dose of oxygen, and as the pressure increases, so does the extra dose of oxygen entering the body! Quite simply put, the purpose of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is to provide extra oxygen at levels above and beyond the body's natural means of getting this nutrient. Think of it as an "oxygen supplement." Every time you breathe inside an oxygen chamber, you are continuously taking another dose of the extra oxygen. This then is a real dose of extra oxygen, and therefore cannot be considered a placebo! In a recent publication, Paul Harch was able to very eloquently present these misconceptions in a detailed report rebutting a very poorly designed study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma. He was able to site numerous scientific documents validating the use of both low and very low pressures, clearly demonstrating that even pressures as low as 1.04 ATA had physiological effects. <view study>   Read Less

Major News -- A landmark study, in a mainstream and peer-reviewed hyperbaric medical journal has just been released, and it supports the use of lower pressure protocols for hyperbaric medicine. This is groundbreaking, because for over two decades now, there has been a constant and heated debate going on between hyperbaric physicians on the use of low pressure protocols, and whether or not they were as effective as higher pressures. Advocates of lower pressure protocols have clearly focused their opinion on the scientific rationale of the gas pressure laws of physics and say that ANY pressure will have a physiological effect - they also have growing support from empirical data. On the other hand, skeptics of lower pressure protocols say "where is the research", and they also quote that "most of the clinical research is at higher pressures". This study should finally put these to rest. Here, they looked at 3 different pressure protocols: 1.3 ATA (ambient air), 1.5 ATA (pure oxygen), and 1.75 ATA (pure oxygen). They then added all 3 pressure protocols to a standard intensive exercise program for CP children and followed them with for an 8-month period of time. The results were astonishing. Not only did they find that all 3 hyperbaric oxygen pressures gave significant improvements, but there was no difference between the pressures. More startling to skeptics of lower pressure protocols, the lower pressure protocol did not even use the conventional pure oxygen, and instead only used regular ambient air. Why this is groundbreaking is because typically in past studies, a lower pressure protocol using regular ambient air has been used as the placebo dose in studies. This is really the point of contention. The supporters of lower pressure protocols argue "how can you use 1.3 ATA ambient air as a placebo when the laws of physics clearly show that this is actually a treatment dosage" This study clearly supports their notion pressure is the key variable in hyperbaric oxygenation therapy. Pandoras box is open! <view study> Read Less

“Children with autism who received hyperbaric treatment at 1.3 ATA and 24% oxygen for 40 hourly sessions had significant improvements in overall functioning, receptive language, social interaction, eye contact, and sensory/cognitive awareness compared to children who received slightly pressurized room air...” <view study> Read Less

This study looked at both pressure and oxygen and their effects on genetic expression. 183 genes were identified that were significantly altered through pressure and/or oxygen. Fascinatingly, more genes were altered in response to hyperbaric air than HBOT. This study supports the notion that pressure has the greatest effect (more than oxygen), when relating to hyperbaric oxygen therapy <view study> Read Less

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been traditionally used for growth, repair, tissue regeneration, and overall recovery. The mechanisms by which these positive effects occur are continuously being explored and our understanding of these effects are growing vastly, and much of these benefits have been shown to occur through the regulation of gene expression in various tissues inside the body. People often wonder why we cannot just breathe pure oxygen and get the same benefits that are achieved through hyperbaric delivery. This study should put those questions at rest and clearly shows the main relevant factor in HBOT is PRESSURE and not the 100% Oxygen. Note, both are considered to be the 2 key variables in dosing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. In this case, the research clearly pointed that the pressure was far more important and just breathing 100% oxygen did not have the physiological benefits that occurred when pressurized oxygen was added. More importantly, researchers in this study observed that pressurized oxygen caused an effect on over 8 thousand genes observed, within a 24 hour period of time following HBOT! <view study> Read Less