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Arthritis
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a very common adult condition, affecting millions throughout the world. In the United States alone, 23% of all adults have been diagnosed with arthritis. Arthritis means the inflammation of the joints. There are multiple forms of arthritis with multiple different causes, but inflammation of joints is seen in all of them. Arthritis can result from injury to joints, stress to joints (such as obesity), overuse, smoking, wear and tear, or the immune system attacking and injuring joint tissue. In many older patients it is common for them to experience bony however many forms of arthritis can occur at any age. Although there is no cure, many patients can experience symptom relief through treatment. Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment (HBOT) of arthritis is a painless and non-invasive therapy that can reduce symptoms, increase a person’s quality of life and help with long-term healing.
Benifits of HBOT treatment for athritis
Those who suffer from arthritis endure pain from their symptoms daily. Treatment for arthritis can be effective, but they can also be difficult to accomplish, some treatments only work for a short period of time, some may not work for each person, often the treatments are very expensive, and lastly they can have significant side effects. Therapies such as anti-immune drug therapies can cause unwanted side effects. Unfortunately, the struggle to find a viable treatment can be laborious, and at times with little or no relief. The benefit of HBOT for people with arthritis is that it is another option, and it works for many different forms of arthritis with minimal side effects. HBOT has been proven to reduce swelling and inflammation, decrease fatigue and pain, and help repair injury caused by arthritis. Depending on the severity of the condition, HBOT can help patients have a new lease on life.
How does HBOT help treat arthritis?
Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy uses increased pressure with increased oxygen to treat many different conditions. HBOT acts primarily by affecting our genes. One session of Hyperbaric treatment has shown can turn on or off over 8000 of our genes. The largest groups of turned-on genes are the anti-inflammatory and growth/repair genes and the largest groups of turned-off genes are those that cause inflammation and cell death. HBOT has the ability to turn on more anti-inflammatory genes which help decrease inflammation and contribute to repairing the cells. Because of this dominant effect on inflammation HBOT is suited for conditions in which inflammation is a primary contributor to the disease such as arthritis. Even though there are several forms of arthritis, HBOT can potentially be a treatment option for all of them.
The main symptoms of arthritis are swelling, inflammation, and pain, these symptoms can be relieved through Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment of arthritis. The recommended amount of sessions for arthritis is 40 sessions however some patients start seeing relief after only one session. Most require at least 20 treatments before the patient can see an obvious reduction in symptoms. Because of HBOT’s gene effects HBOT can help repair tissue damage from arthritis while suppressing the ongoing inflammation. Other treatments available for arthritis may not be viable for every patient. HBOT is safe, and patients of all ages with levels of arthritis ranging from moderate to severe are able to tolerate this treatment. The goal in any inflammatory condition is to decrease the inflammation with HBOT.