Over the years, a number of different treatments have been used in order to help people get through the painful issues related to their health problems.

Because of that, we’ve been able to find a variety of treatments that may seem a little off the beaten path but work nonetheless.

In recent years, pain reduction for fibromyalgia and other disorders has been found through hyperbaric oxygen therapy. What is this therapy, and how does it work? Let’s take a look.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, sometimes referred to as HBO or HBOT, is a type of therapy where someone is put inside of an oxygen chamber in order to get the effects of pressurized oxygen on the body.

This may sound strange, but this type of therapy is actually incredibly old – its original use was for people who were diving and had issues upon reaching the surface (specifically the problems related to decompression sickness, but also related pain problems).

The diver would be put inside of the chamber in order to help reduce the pain and prevent further issues from occurring.

But, in recent years, doctors have noticed that this type of therapy can actually help other types of pain and fatigue disorders as well.

By putting someone into the hyperbaric chamber for a period time, the pressure that the oxygen delivery can help reduce the pain in various parts of the body, especially in those areas that may be hard to reach or that may cause harm if there is too much going on with that area of the body at any point in time.

As time has gone on, the technology has advanced and it’s a lot easier to get this treatment than it ever has been before.

So, the pressure from the oxygen allows the body to soak up more oxygen than it normally would.

By having more oxygen in your body allows it to do things it may not have done otherwise.

It basically gives some of your systems a “kick start” and forces them to work more quickly.

For example, the body may start to develop new blood vessels; this sets off a reaction that allows the blood flow through your body more readily, which reduces inflammation and makes it easier for you to move.

It improves the immune system by pushing the white blood cells to work and to stop bacteria and other organisms from developing within your body.

All of these things can really help with a lot of disorders, and it can make it so that you feel healthier and have a better quality of life overall.

What Role Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Play in Reducing Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

Now, there’s the obvious answer to this question – it helps to reduce the pain and fatigue that come with fibromyalgia. But what exactly does it do?

How does hyperbaric oxygen therapy help the patient to be able to better cope with their fibromyalgia symptoms? There are a lot of ways, actually, all of which we’re going to look at here in this section.

First off, as you know, swelling and infection are two things that you’re fighting off all of the time if you have fibromyalgia.

The swelling in your joints and in other areas of your body can really make it hard for you to move around and function normally.

By increasing your blood flow, suddenly, you’re a lot less stiff, which means you’re more flexible and it’s easier for you to move and exercise.

Another bonus for this is that the increased blood flow can help you to have more energy, which, in the long run, will help you control your weight and will help you to feel less fatigued.

All in all, better blood flow equals a healthier you, and a more active you, which means you’ll feel a lot better about many areas of your life.

Then, we get into the immune system benefits. The chronic fatigue that comes along with fibromyalgia has a lot of causes, and some of them are related to how sick you feel a majority of the time.

It can be frustrating when your body seems to be fighting against you, and because of that, you want to make sure that you are able to do everything you can to keep it as healthy as possible.

Because hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps your immune system to do its job more easily, you will be able to fight off infection more often, thus making you feel healthier and removing some more fatigue.

Lastly, we want to take a look at the pain threshold that you’re dealing with. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can play a huge role in helping a patient to increase their pain tolerance.

And, if you have fibromyalgia, that’s a big deal – much of what you deal with is related to the pain all over your body, so being able to cope with it better can help with a lot of other symptoms, including anxiety and depression.

It takes a few treatments before patients start to see this change in their bodies, but many tests have shown that it can make a significant difference in the lives of patients.

Knowing what hyperbaric oxygen therapy is, and having a better understanding of how it can help you, are you considering it as a possible option for dealing with your specific fibromyalgia symptoms?

Is it something that you want to talk to your doctor about? Since it has been proven to help relieve a lot of the major symptoms connected to fibromyalgia, it’s definitely worth a look.

Only your specialist can make that determination, but overall, it could be something that you want to look into.

Schedule an appointment today in order to see what options that you have and to get any questions answered about the procedure as well.

Being willing to try new therapies can end up showing you better ways to deal with your illness.

References:

http://baromedical.ca/medical/neurological/fibromyalgia/

http://www.hyperbariclink.com/Conditions/Fibromyalgia.aspx

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_muscle_stim.html