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MN Hyperbaric treats both UHMS and Medicare approved indications, as well as off-label indications such as Autism.
Learn what to expect, and find other information regarding treatment at Minnesota Hyperbaric.
Interested in knowing more? Here we have provided select articles and links to further information.
Our staff has been thoroughly trained to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Extended contact information and driving directions.
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MN HBOT Research and Links
A Quick History of HBOT:
The idea of using alterations in pressure to treat medical conditions has been around for several hundred years. Initially, it wasn't very well understood, and was most likely very ineffective as early technology was unable to create any significant changes in pressure, and hyperbaric treatments lacked any use of pure oxygen breathing because oxygen hadn't been discovered!
In the late 1800's, caisson's disease was discovered. Caisson's disease, now better known as decompression sickness or "the bends", resulted from the quick decompression of workers who had been laboring underground in pressurized shafts, called caissons. Eventually, it was discovered that workers suffering from this disease would greatly improve if they were repressurized and depressurized slowly.
Finally, in the 1950's, wider-spread use of pressurization treatments with oxygen, called Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) had begun. Many of these first uses were for gangrenous infections, carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as adjunct use with some types surgeries, and of course-diving injuries. Professional societies were organized, research was accelerated, and now hyperbaric oxygen therapy is being utilized to save the lives and improve outcomes of many patients.
HBOT and The Body:
There are two primary functions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), increase in dissolved oxygen in the blood and a reduction in trapped bubble size. The latter, a reduction in trapped bubble size, is important in a small subset of conditions involving gas embolisms (gas bubbles in the blood). Gas embolisms can be caused by a variety of things, one being the well known decompression sickness (the "bends"). In decompression sickness, a diver acculumates excess nitrogen in the tissue when under the pressure of the water. If a diver ascends too quickly, this excess nitrogen comes out of the tissue and forms bubbles in the blood, which can block the blood vessels. The pressure in HBOT can help reduce the size of these bubbles, allowing them to pass through the blood vessels, where they can then be elminated by the body through breathing.
The other primary function of HBOT is to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in the blood. There are two types of ways that oxygen is delivered in the body: with red blood cells and dissolved in the blood. Normally, the dissolved oxygen in the blood is negligible, with most of the oxygen the body needs being carried by red blood cells. On occasion, due to injury or disease, not enough oxygen is being delivered to parts of the body to effective healing. By increasing the partial pressure of oxygen through breathing 100% oxygen and at greater than normal atmospheric pressure, HBOT is able to induce a great increase in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood. These levels of dissolved oxygen are supraphysiologic, meaning much greater than is normally possible in the body. These high concentrations of oxygen then result in a myriad of effects that can stimulate and support healing, including stimulating new blood vessel growth, increasing oxygen concentration in wounds, improving white blood cell function, decreasing swelling, and many others.
Selected Research Articles on HBOT:
Rossignol HBOT Pilot Study. (PDF)
This is a pilot study done by Dr. Dan Rossignol and colleagues examining HBOT in Autism.
Rossignol HBOT Multicenter Study. (PDF)
A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial further supporting the use of HBOT in Autism.
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