Can Oxygen Therapy Really Relieve Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

Over the years, a number of different treatments have been used to help people overcome 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.

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What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

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

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 the chamber 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 of 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 passed, technology has advanced, and it’s much easier to get this treatment now than it ever has been.

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

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 blood to flow more readily through the body, reducing inflammation and making it easier to move.

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

All of these things can really help with many disorders, making 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 many ways, all of which we will 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.

Swelling in joints and other areas of the body can make it difficult to move around and function normally.

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

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

All in all, better blood flow equals a healthier and more active you, which means you’ll feel much 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 the 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 can do everything you can to keep it as healthy as possible.

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

Lastly, we want to examine your pain threshold. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can greatly help patients 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 patients’ lives.

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 it could be something you want to consider.

Schedule an appointment today to discuss your options and have any questions about the procedure answered.

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