In the Media

HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY

By Dr. Steven Bloch, M.D.

Sports stars and celebrities have been getting oxygen therapy for years. Recently, Oprah had a show devoted to high-tech ways to extend your life and hyperbaric oxygen therapy was discussed. Current advances now make this therapy affordable, and we have introduced a unit at our Skin Deep Medical Spa in Highland Park.

While hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may be new to medical spas, it is not entirely new to the medical field. For more than a century, hyperbaric chambers have been used to treat difficult diabetic wounds, diving accidents, burns, stroke, and other circulatory problems. The novelty of hyperbarics lies not only in its amazing power to rejuvenate the body from the inside out, but also in its newfound accessibility. We live in a toxic world, the air we breathe in, the food we eat, environmental contaminants, stress, and even exercise. Most of what we call "aging," from sagging skin, cellulite, immune deficiencies, blood pressure, and cholesterol, is premature and preventable. Many of today's illnesses and premature aging comes from lack of oxygen.

Without enough oxygen the human body does not function to its optimum potential and cannot get rid of free radicals, uric acid, and bacterial infections, which results in the PH of the body becoming too acidic. This leads to reduction in collagen, cellulite, pains, stress, fatigue, and tiredness. When toxins are present in your body, oxygen, the body's "food supply," cannot efficiently reach cells to give it nutrients and the cells can't function properly. Hyperbaric chambers help to reduce acidic build up and rebalance the PH by neutralizing the residues and removing them from the body. This aids in the cleansing and repair of tissues, increasing collagenation and helping with the digestive tract, which leads to increased nutrient absorption.

Though the technology may look high-tech, the concept is simple. When you take oxygen and pressurize it in a tube, the oxygen is forced into a person's cells. It mobilizes stem cells from the bone marrow to promote healing. It speeds up the healing process for wounds and helps repair broken bones. The mechanics of hyperbarics is simple: Increase the volume of oxygen in the body by increasing the atmospheric pressure, and the compressed molecules of oxygen reach oxygen-deprived blood cells, plasma, and tissues regardless of blood flow.

Numerous medical spas in the United States and abroad have found that HBOT not only helps the body heal itself, especially after surgical procedures, but that it also produces radical results for clients looking for total body health. The treatment itself takes about an hour. You feel like you're in a submarine or a scuba diving. Your ears begin to pop while they are equilibrating. When you come out, you feel relaxed yet more alert. Patients report improvement with migraines and better sleep patterns. As part of an anti-aging regime, skin tone has been shown to be improved as well as the radiance of the skin. The latest research in hyperbarics has shown a reduction in cell death, as well as significant improvement in mental function in the brain SPECT scans. There are many things that people do every day to get more energy: antioxidants, vitamins, exercise, and the like, but what about the body's basic need for oxygen? The good news is that with the introduction of hyperbarics, this technology is now available and is affordable.