A long time ago, scientists discovered that a gas under pressure is easily absorbed by liquid. In hyperbaric therapy, a person rests in an enclosed chamber where air is pushed in with a compressor thus increasing pressure in the chamber above the outside atmospheric pressure. The added pressure in and around the body, allows oxygen (as a gas) to dissolve into the blood, cells, and interstitial fluids (the liquids) of the body.
By dramatically increasing the amount of absorbed oxygen in the body, hyperbaric therapy helps speed up the healing process. Healing is a metabolic function which simply means that cells have the ability to heal in the right environment and with the right tools. Oxygen is a vital tool to healing. The more oxygen available, the more efficient the cell can work. Just like an engine needs a good flow of clean air, so do our cells. The more oxygen available, the more efficient the cell will work. For an injured cell or tissue, this means that the more oxygen, the quicker it will heal!
