What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is based on having the patient breathe 100% oxygen inside a pressurizable steel chamber while being exposed to a pressure 2–3 times higher than atmospheric pressure at sea level. In this way, the reduced amount of oxygen in the target tissues can be increased up to 20-fold depending on the chamber pressure used, and the healing process of diabetic foot caused by uncontrolled diabetes and of sports injuries is greatly shortened. In addition, hyperbaric oxygen therapy offers hope for people with cardiovascular blockages, those who have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from stoves, or those with diabetes-related wounds. Of vital importance in the treatment of many diseases, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used therapeutically above all for diabetic wounds and chronic wounds, as well as for bone tissue death due to inadequate blood supply, bone inflammation, wounds caused by vascular blockages, decompression sickness, wounds resulting from radiotherapy, and burns.