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The body has a complicated set of reactions that respond to injury. Most of these processes rely on blood vessels to be carried out throughout the body. They result in a cascade of biochemical mediators that is commonly known as inflammation. HBOT is effective for many conditions that cause inflammation.
Acute conditions, including injuries sustained due to trauma to the legs or body, nervous system damage, or surgical trauma, all benefit from HBOT. The general principle behind HBOT is that hyperoxygenation reduces tissue swelling and enhances oxygen delivery to injured tissues by increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the plasma. Increasing oxygen aids in salvaging damaged tissue that would otherwise be lost to tissue death.
Chronic conditions, including poor healing wounds or wounds that involve a large surface area, bone infections, internal abscesses or any other infections that result in tissue destruction, or loss of blood supply, also benefit from HBOT. Acute injuries or inflammatory processes can also turn chronic if left untreated. Using HBOT for these circumstances enhances normal body processes, such as, stimulation of new blood vessel growth, enhancing the white blood cell's ability to kill bacteria, stimulation of production of connective tissue cells and connective tissue.
Other uses for HBOT include head and spinal trauma, which often result in severe loss of body function. The neurological deficits are thought to result from swelling of tissue within a confined space, the loss of blood and oxygen supply, and the sequential biochemical effects of deprivation on the nervous tissue. HBOT works in these situations to reduce the swelling of tissue and salvage the injured nervous tissue.
Another situation where HBOT can be beneficial is in internal abscess, which may occur in the lungs or in the abdomen, and are rarely diagnosed early in the course of the disease. When these abscesses are diagnosed, there is a thick-walled fibrous tissue surrounding them that impairs antibiotics from reaching the affected area. As a result, prolonged antibiotic treatment often has no resolution of the illness, causing high cost to the owner and potentially fatal consequences for the animal. Important factors in healing any wound or infection are, of course, an accurate diagnosis along with selection of appropriate medical therapy. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics and other treatments as well as their ability to reach the desired target destination.
HBOT can also be used for training injuries in animal athletes. The beneficial effects would include reduction of tissue swelling and inflammation due to vasoconstriction with a net decrease in tissue edema, and an enhancement of the connective tissue repair process.
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