Osteoarthritis (OA) is a condition that is very common amongst the elderly and one that, for many, negatively affects their quality of life by causing a great deal of debility, and causing a dependency on pain medications (NSAIDS). OA is basically a degenerative condition of the joints whereby inflammatory markers seem to be the most important mediators of this cartilage destruction. Keep in mind that cartilage is able to repair itself through the induction of local growth factors, leading to the production of new collagen. This 'regenerative' repair is counteracted by the continual destruction seen with this disorder, leading to a progressive degenerative state. Since HBOT is considered to be a regenerative therapy, it would make sense that HBOT could help with a degenerative condition like OA. HBOT is already being used by OA sufferers for its anti-inflammatory pain-relieving effects, but now this study gives us insights on its potential long term benefits on reducing the net destruction and degeneration observed in OA. Researches were able to show that HBOT can benefit OA by helping with both factors that are involved in this disease. Firstly, HBOT caused a marked reduction of the key inflammatory markers involved this condition; thereby, reducing further degeneration. Secondly, HBOT caused an increase in the number of growth factors involved in the production of new collagen and cartilage formation, thus helping in the repair and regeneration of this tissue. The clinical relevance of this study is enormous, as it may offer OA sufferers the ability to counteract the degradative forces involved in OA, while still offering its pain-relieving benefits <view study> Read Less

This study clearly demonstrated that it only took 5 days to significantly enhance bone growth, reduce inflammation, and accelerate bone healing, with positive results in bone new bone formation <view study> Read Less

Long-term disabilities from spinal cord injuries are linked with the extent of secondary injury from the inflammation that immediately follows the injury. This natural body body response of inflammation, limits the amount of blood and oxygen getting to the area, and thus poses greater problem. Hyperbaric oxygen has been used as an off-label treatment for spinal cord injuries for many years now, with many positive reports by both patients and treating physicians. This study showed that applying hyperbaric therapy may reduce secondary damage by reducing the inflammatory factors produced by the body. This gives good rationale for using HBOT following spinal cord injuries, not only to reduce secondary damage due to inflammation, but for also getting extra oxygen into the area and promote further repair, while not losing functional capacity <view study> Read Less

People still believe that hyperbaric oxygen therapy only works at higher pressures. Most of them are only practicing with higher pressure protocols and have not taken the time to go through the steady influx of all the recent data and research making its way into current medical journals and publications. If they did, they would very quickly be able to see that lower pressures can provide very powerful effects, and sometimes even more powerful than those observed with higher pressures; the latter was just the case in a landmark study released in 2013. This study was published in the UHMS journal (a mainstream, peer reviewed, hyperbaric medical journal) and looked at the difference between 2.4 ATA (higher pressure HBOT) and 1.5 ATA (lower pressure HBOT). The results were stunning in virtually all areas observed. Researchers observed 92 inflammatory genes and this is what they quoted:

"Interestingly, oxygen at 1.5 atm abs affected many genes much more strongly than oxygen at 2.4. The reasons for this effect are unknown, but it does raise questions about the most appropriate treatment pressures for inflammatory conditions"

It was landmark study for lower pressure protocols, because it clearly demonstrated that the lower pressure protocols (1.5 ATA) had much stronger effects in the inflammatory genes observed than the higher pressures (2.4 ATA). <view study>     Read Less

This study looked at physiological changes that  occurred in the brain with the application of hyperbaric therapy following traumatic brain injury. They noticed an improvement in the blood-brain barrier, a reduction in inflammation and inflammatory proteins, a reduction in both swelling and the size of the damage, and more importantly an improvement in neurological status including motor and cognitive function <view study> Read Less