Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a potentially effective treatment for MCL healing

“Purpose:” This study investigated hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) to determine their combined effects on fibroblasts from rabbit medial collateral ligament (MCL).

Conclusion: HBO2 or HBO2 plus PDGF-bb treatment decreases the Type III collagen/Type I collagen content, which could result in mechanically stronger collagen fibrils. We propose HBO2 therapy as a potentially effective treatment for MCL healing.” <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Femoral Head Necrosis

The University of South Florida has just shown us that the application of HBOT caused significant pain relief in just 20 treatments. In addition, range of motion was also significantly improved; the difference being that 20 to 30 sessions were needed to obtain this positive response. This study was a double-blind randomized, controlled, prospective study and the positive results were confirmed by MRI reports. More importantly, the 7 year follow up revealed that all patients remained substantially pain and none required hip arthroplasty <view study>

Low Pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes muscle regeneration

“Mild hyperbaric oxygen with normal air has emerged recently as an accepted complementary treatment for muscle injury in sport medicine. Furthermore, this method is gaining popularity as a home remedy to further improve recovery from muscle injury.” This study looked at a very low pressure of only 1.25 ATA for muscle regeneration and the results of this study cause them to conclude that this dosage was an appropriate support therapy for severe muscle injury <view study>

HBOT highly effective treatment following Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a standard of care for many patients undergoing cancer treatments; however, when pelvic radiation is performed, it’s successes also can come with a debilitating side-effect where the bladder becomes inflamed leading to a painful and bleeding condition called hemorrhagic cystitis (HS). This is a very difficult condition to treat. Promising new research, just published in March 2011, is now giving hope for these sufferers. This study clearly demonstrates successful therapy with long-term follow up when patients were treated with hyperbaric oxygenation therapy. Here, a standard program of just 40 hyperbaric sessions were given to 25 patients who were diagnosed with HS. More importantly, all patients had already failed conventional therapy. So get ready for the results–ALL 25 PATIENTS IMPROVED AND WERE SUCCESSFULLY TREATED. Furthermore, after close to 2 year follow up, no regressions were shown. The results of this study are truly remarkable and makes for a strong argument to add hyperabric oxygenation therapy to standard of care and a primary treatment option for those with HS. The authors of the study support this previous statement by adding in the fact that hyperbaric oxygen is highly effective and safe, non-invasive therapy for HC secondary to pelvic radiation <view study>

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Chronic Radiaton Injury

Virgina Mason Hospital’s hyperbaric unit has pulled together a report which documents 411 of their patients who took course in HBOT following radiation therapy, for the diagnosis of chronic radiation-induced tissue damage. The results were quite dramatic. For example, a positive outcome from hyperbaric treatment occurred in 94% of patients with osteoradionecrosis of the jaw. Hopefully, this will encourage the medical community to make stronger recommendations for hyperbaric therapy <view study>

New brain tissue growth occurs from long course of hyperbaric oxygen

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is widely used as an effective off-label use for stroke victims. Research has found that this therapy not only targets oxygenation of the affected area and reduces inflammation, but also has been shown to promote bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to proliferate and mobilize, which essentially becomes an important part of the neurogenic (nervous system growth) effects that have been demonstrated from hyperbaric procedures. Mobilization of these BMSCs to the damaged areas was more improved in long course hyperbaric treatments, suggesting the duration of therapy is crucial for promoting their neurogenic effects.

It is important to also note that emerging stem cell research has clearly demonstrated that BMSCs secrete brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the addition of anti-BDNF neutralizing antibodies to MSC-conditioned medium attenuated its neuroprotective effect <view study>

<p>This study also looked at the release of BDNF and found that a 3-week course of HBOT was able to produce significantly higher levels of BDNF and GDNF, than a shorter 2-day course of HBO. These results indicated that longer and repetitive HBO therapy promoted more neurotrophic factor production, including BDNF and GDNF. <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen improves growth factors following tissue transplantation

Growth factors including blood vessels to transplanted areas are important and key factors for successful procedures. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been long-used for wound healing due to it’s ability to increase blood vessels to the area. This study looked at applying hyperbaric oxygen therapy following tissue implantation. The observed growth factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor, were shown to increase and support the notion that hyperbaric therapy can be used to enhance implantation procedures <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves muscle regeneration

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a widely used treatment for many elite athletes for recovery from muscle injuries. This study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at this relationship by taking a group of rats and inducing injury to the leg muscles. They then followed up with a program of 10 hyperbaric oxygen sessions over a 2-week period. The results demonstrated an acceleration in healing and functional recovery, with greater expression of IGF-1 and other repair factors noted at days 3 to 5 <view study>

Combining Growth Hormone and hyperbaric oxygen produces better results

Both growth hormone and hyperbaric oxygen therapy have been shown to increase growth factors and improve healing. This animal study looked at the effects of both, individually and combined, following surgery for ischemic colonic anastomoses. Combined therapy resulted in a favorable therapeutic effect on healing <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves sciatic nerve regeneration

Numerous studies have shown hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to help and enhance nerve regeneration, particularly with the sciatic nerve. This study gives more insight into the timing of HBOT, and was able to demonstrate that early intervention with HBOT was correlated with better nerve repair and recovery <view study>

The combination of HBOT and PRP improves bone regeneration

Recently, there has been many clinics raving about the benefits of combining HBOT with PRP. This study showed that the combination of both procedures produced new blood vessels and new bone formation. More studies are sure to follow <view study>

Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy helps Osteoarthritis and degenerative joint/cartilage disease

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>

Hyperbaric Oxygen protects the brain and the heart — a necessity for today’s society

With the growing incidence of strokes and heart attacks, medical disabilities for these, and other age-related conditions, are on the rise. Preconditioning the body and its vital organs may be of critical importance for today’s aging and disease-ridden society.

This new study looked at preconditioning the brain with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and showed that it reduced postoperative cognitive dysfunction. More specifically, they reported, “Hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning has proved to protect vital organs, such as the heart, liver, and brain. … We conclude that hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning is an effective and feasible method to prevent, alleviate, and improve postoperative cognitive dysfunction and that its mechanism of action is very complex, involving the stimulation of endogenous antioxidant and anti-inflammation defense systems.” <view study>

Hyperbaric Oxygen promotes Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the growth and development of the nervous system with new neurons. This process has been shown to be significantly enhanced through the application of hyperbaric oxygenation therapy, particularly following trauma to the brain or central nervous system. A recent article titled “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes neurogenesis: where do we stand?” has just been published. In this article, proposed physiological mechanisms of action are looked at, in a way to gain better understanding of oxygen’s role in neurogenesis <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen increases new blood vessels towards traumatic tissue

Following spinal cord injuries, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been shown to produce a positive effect on healing, but it still remains unclear of the main mechanisms of action. This study followed spinal cord injuries treated with HBOT and demonstrated that this group had higher and longer expressions of VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor), which is responsible for the growth of new blood vessels. This follows many other studies and citations, particularly with non-healing wounds, where HBOT facilitates the body to produce more blood vessels to damaged tissue, for long terms benefits <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy reduces bone loss associated with osteoclasts

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is currently a recognized treatment for osteonecrosis. This is a condition where their is reduced blood flow and consequent breaking down of the bone. This study looked at the relationship of osteoclasts and hyperbaric oxygen exposure. Osteoclasts are cells that break down bone and are in constant battle with osteoblasts, which are cells that build bone. The results showed that hyperbaric exposure caused a significant reduction in osteoclasts formation and subsequently resulted in reduction in bone loss <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Degenerative Disc Disease

The Journal of Orthopaedic Research just published on article demonstrating the beneficial effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on human degenerated intervertebral disks. During the course of the study, the researchers were able to evaluate physiological changes associated with regeneration of tissue, thus proposing various methods of action <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Degenerative Discs

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a used to treat difficult wounds in many cutting-edge hospitals and wound centers mainly due to it’s ability to promote growth of new tissue and blood vessels. Researchers have now taken this further to see if the healing effects of oxygen can also be shown for the intervertebral discs. This is a debilitating condition for a wide range of the population and are seen in more as people age and also for those who have suffered physical trauma to the area (ie, contact sports or accidents and falls). The following study shows us the mechanism involved in hyperbaric oxygen’s application for treating degenerative discs. Since this treatment modality is non-invasive, it should now get considerable attention for an adjunct treatment modality for disc degeneration <view study>

Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy — The earlier the better!

Sciatic Nerve Regeneration:

“The aim of the study was to determine the effect of different application timings of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) on nerve regeneration in rats”

“Our results suggest that initiating HBO early after nerve repair will make a positive impact on recovery” <view study>