Conditions Shown to Benefit from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)
The history of Hyperbaric Medicine stretches back to the 1600's prior to the discovery of oxygen in the 1700's. Today, the combination of breathing oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure, called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT,) is an internationally recognized medical treatment. In North America, it is used to treat serious medical conditions grouped into 14 categories approved by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS.)
In the USA, approved HBOT conditions treated in private clinics (outside of hospitals) can be reimbursed by insurance companies, while in Canada the Medical Services Plan (MSP) will only cover treatment in hospital based clinics. Currently, Canada is dramatically underserviced by hospital based chambers. For example, the entire province of British Columbia has only one hospital-based hyperbaric chamber at Vancouver General Hospital.
Internationally, HBOT is used for many more conditions than are currently approved in North America. For example, China has approved over 60 conditions for HBOT. Global leaders in hyperbaric research and in treatment application include Sweden, Japan, Russia and China. An excellent medical textbook that best covers the broad application of hyperbaric treatment internationally is K.K. Jain's, Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine.
In the USA, approved HBOT conditions treated in private clinics (outside of hospitals) can be reimbursed by insurance companies, while in Canada the Medical Services Plan (MSP) will only cover treatment in hospital based clinics. Currently, Canada is dramatically underserviced by hospital based chambers. For example, the entire province of British Columbia has only one hospital-based hyperbaric chamber at Vancouver General Hospital.
Internationally, HBOT is used for many more conditions than are currently approved in North America. For example, China has approved over 60 conditions for HBOT. Global leaders in hyperbaric research and in treatment application include Sweden, Japan, Russia and China. An excellent medical textbook that best covers the broad application of hyperbaric treatment internationally is K.K. Jain's, Textbook of Hyperbaric Medicine.
