The human body has a blueprint for health and can heal itself with the right conditions. According to Dr. Eleanor Womack, Medical Director of ATX Hyperbarics, Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy can aid in recovering faster, feeling better, looking younger and living longer. She discusses how these benefits are possible.

“What’s holding back our bodies from being healed and whole, younger and vital, is that we just don’t have all the ingredients most of the time. We have a perfect cook and a perfect recipe for how to accomplish healing but we don’t have all the ingredients, and a major ingredient that drives healing is oxygen,” said Dr. Womack.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Mid-Pressure Medical Grade Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen through a mask or hood while sitting in a steel chamber that is pressurized to 1.3 to 2.4 times the atmospheric pressure.

Why Hyperbarics Works

Dr. Womack explains that under controlled atmospheric pressure the human body can take oxygen in and dissolve it into the liquid plasma inside the blood vessels. At two atmospheres of pressure inside of a hyperbaric chamber, the body receives up to a 2000% increase in the load of oxygen in the blood. This oxygen level is also delivered for about three hours to the cerebral spinal fluid inside the body and to the fluid in joints as well as to the tendons which normally don’t have any oxygenated blood supply.

How Hyperbarics Works

During the first 10-15 minutes of a dive in a hyperbaric chamber, pressure builds to an optimum level known as mid-pressure hyperbarics between 1.3 and 2.4 atmospheres. The patient then stays in the chamber for a full hour or 90 minutes while the oxygen in their blood gently increases. At the end of a full hour or 90 minutes at pressure, there is a 10–15-minute time requirement to return to pressure and open the door. The participant will have circulating oxygen in their plasma and cerebral spinal fluid for three to four hours after a session.

Benefits of Hyperbaric Treatment

Oxygen drives healing by optimizing the biological processes within the body and by helping make extra energy through improving mitochondrial function. Also, oxygen is toxic to certain bacteria and viruses, so it can help get rid of certain infectious diseases and heal wounds.

“When the body is sick, it’s sick not because it doesn’t know how to fix itself. It’s sick because it doesn’t have all the ingredients it needs to fix itself. The body’s major need is for oxygen and a simple and effective way to get more oxygen is to get inside a hyperbaric chamber,” said Dr. Womack.

Combating Degenerative Issues

Hyperbaric oxygen addresses many degenerative diseases, according to Dr. Womack because it directly addresses mitochondrial health. The mitochondria is the organelle inside each of our cells that make energy. Without healthy mitochondria, no biological processes can take place. Dr. Womack says that many of the chronic illnesses of modern life are associated with mitochondrial problems. Through hyperbaric treatment, one can either avoid those problems or be proactive in treating general illness.

Neurodegenerative diseases are especially aided with hyperbaric treatment in most cases. Patients with dementia, injuries after a stroke, chronic fatigue from Lyme or mold exposure comprise 50 to 70% of the patients successfully treated at ATX Hyperbarics.

Concussions

When someone suffers a concussion, there is no extra room inside the skull for the brain when it swells or bleeds. According to Dr. Womack, getting into a hyperbaric chamber within 72 hours of the injury is important because it can reduce the size of the wound. Two to five sessions within that 72-hour period can make a huge difference in the speed and efficacy of recovery time.

Cosmetic Surgery

Physical healing from cosmetic surgery is accelerated about five (5) times faster after treatments in a hyperbaric chamber because the wound is rapidly decreased due to the oxygenation and deep tissue perfusion.

“The person comes in the same day as the surgery with their face swollen, and by the time they come out of their first session, their face is no longer swollen,” said Dr. Womack.

Healing from any invasive procedure to the body can be accelerated by this method.

Health and Anti-Aging

Published studies and ongoing research show that hyperbaric treatments can be beneficial in slowing the aging process of the human body.

Appointments

Prescriptions are necessary for hyperbaric treatment. A patient can either get one from their doctor or contact Dr. Womack’s office directly to obtain one. Hyperbaric sessions are typically 60 minutes except for concussion and anti-aging protocol treatments which are 90 minutes and priced to be affordable.

ATX Hyperbarics has 2 convenient locations: 5656 Bee Caves Rd. in Westlake and 1545 Round Rock Ave. in Round Rock. A third location will open soon in the Lakeway .

Want to learn more about ATX Hyperbaric chambers, treatment and therapy? Visit their website at atxhyperbarics.com to schedule an appointment.

The above story was produced by Community Impact's Storytelling Multi-Platform Journalist Victoria Schaefer with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.