Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a relatively new treatment for fibromyalgia. However, initial studies seem to illustrate that HBOT has a positive effect on the symptoms of fibromyalgia, including muscle pain and tender points.

A study performed by medical researchers at a Turkish military hospital revealed astonishing results when it comes to using HBOT on fibromyalgia patients. This double blind, placebo-controlled study exposed fibromyalgia patients to 15, 90-minute hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments. Researchers recorded information regarding the patient’s tender points and pain threshold before the study began, throughout the treatments, and again following treatments

The results of the study showed that the fibromyalgia patients receiving HBOT reported a decreased number of tender points and an increased pain threshold. In fact, after 15 sessions, the patients recorded half the number of original tender points and twice their original pain threshold. Those patients who received placebo HBOT recorded no improvements.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Many fibromyalgia sufferers have difficulty finding a treatment that is genuinely effective for their symptoms. It can be especially hard to find treatments that help alleviate the wide number of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, such as fatigue and migraine headaches. Recently, a new treatment has become available for fibromyalgia sufferers. Known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, this treatment could be the answer to your fibromyalgia pains.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, uses pressurized oxygen in order to treat painful side effects of certain medical conditions. Delivered in an oxygen chamber, HBOT has been used for centuries. In fact, the first sealed hyperbaric oxygen chamber was created in Britain in 1662. Long associated with diving, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is now being used in a number of large medical facilities and hospitals throughout the United States in order to treat over 60 different medical conditions.

What Conditions Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Treat?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been commonly used to treat decompression sickness in divers, as well as carbon monoxide poisoning. This type of treatment has now been expanded in order to help patients suffering from these conditions among others:

• smoke inhalation
• soft tissue burns
• amputation
• head injuries
• Lyme disease
• chronic fatigue syndrome

What is Involved with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves the continual delivery of pressurized oxygen to a patient who is suffering from a specific illness or condition. Generally, we breathe in air that is comprised of a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide. On earth, this air exists at a pressure of approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch.  During HBOT, only 100% pure oxygen is delivered to the patient. Additionally, this oxygen is pressurized by a machine to twice the normal levels. 

How Does Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Work?
The key mechanism involved in HBOT is known as hyperoxygenation. As the patient is immersed in the pure, pressurized oxygen, their bodily tissues are forced to soak up increased levels of oxygen. Oxygen saturates the skin and enters the blood stream, causing a number of biological reactions, which work to reduce pain and treat illness. In particular, hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps to:

• stimulate the development of new blood vessels, improving circulation
• stimulate the action of white blood cells, helping the body to fight off infection
• narrows certain blood vessels, reducing inflammation and swelling
• inhibit the growth of foreign bacteria and organisms