Imagine crossing the street and seeing a man who may not have a limb. What are the chances that the thought of how they lost that particular limb crosses your mind? A lot, right? Well, let us answer it for you. Statistics and medical reports show 200,000 non-traumatic amputations (surgically removing a limb) occur in the West. About 130,000 of these amputations arise because of diabetes.
When diabetic, the wound-healing ability of your body is already slow. Hence, if someone sustains an injury on any limb, the reduced blood flow to the area can cause it to heal in ages. In between all this, it can sometimes get infected enough for the limb to be removed. While it sounds incredibly heartbreaking, science has advanced. Today, medical professionals might have a way to preserve your limb. How so? Well, through HBOT! Hop on to learn more about it.
What is HBOT – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
HBOT stands for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, which makes it apparent that it’s related to the oxygen our body needs. However, the question is, while an average human recovering gets oxygen from the air, why would they need a burst of extra supply? Well, the average air we breathe through only has 21% of oxygen in it. However, at times, the human body’s requirement is more than the standard 21% to heal and recover tissues.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides just that. This therapy places an individual in a hyperbaric chamber, and the air pressures are higher than the average air. Then, the individual is administered 100% oxygen for a standard period, which helps the body heal and fight infections. However, while the administration of oxygen higher than usual is proven to be advantageous, what needs to be understood is that too much oxygen can also damage the body and cause problems like retinopathy, etc. Hence ensuring that you take up this treatment through the right professionals.
How Does the HBOT Work Towards Limb Preservation?
While we did explain how the HBOT is administered through a chamber, the question remains: how does it work toward limb preservation? Once high-pressured oxygen is administered through the HBOT into the blood, it helps overcome oxygen and circulation deficiencies. Once sufficient oxygen and nutrients become available, the body starts healing. The white blood cells will arrive in the area of the infected limb, fight infection, begin the repair process, and help rebuild the healthy tissue.
Since the significant goal of limb preservation is to protect the bone and limb, there is no better, more efficient, and safer way to maximize limb salvage and ensure that an individual walks out on all four limbs. The process is around 20 minutes to an hour long, depending on the type of tissue healing or treatment a person may require. The required sessions may also vary from injury to injury and in the case of an infection. While all this is great, apart from ensuring that all limbs remain intact at their desired joints in the body, this particular oxygen therapy also serves several other benefits. Want to know a few? Well, we got those concluded for you as well.
Benefits of Using HBOT in Limb Preservation
There are several exceptional benefits that hyperbaric oxygen therapy can provide in terms of limb preservation. A few of the most common ones are:
1. Increased Oxygen Supply to Tissues
While the normal breathing air only contains 21% oxygen, sufficient for the body tissues to function, there can be times when more is required. Through the HBOT, individuals can receive an increased oxygen supply for a specific amount of time, not limiting them to being strapped to a tank 24/7 but also providing enough supply to heal.
2. Better Healing of the Body
As mentioned above, your body would journey towards better healing with a better oxygen supply. With the increased amount of oxygen flowing through your blood, different areas of your body would receive better oxygen and nutrient supply and partake in more effective healing.
3. Boosted White Blood Cells
With increased oxygen provided by the HBOT, the WBC production would elevate, too. Since these white cells are the savior of the body and help the immune system fight infections, they will help invade and fight infectious invaders more effortlessly.
4. Enhanced Effectiveness of Antibodies
With a better supply of oxygen and improved production of WBC, the antibodies used to protect the body will work effectively, too. Hence, the body in a fool-proof protective form and inclining towards a healthier tangent will quickly help preserve the limbs after infections.
5. Reduce Swelling and Pain
HBOT is a proven method to reduce swelling and pain. With the administration of high-pressure oxygen, the tissue swelling is reduced, ultimately bringing down the pain as well.
Where Can I Receive the Best HBOT Treatment?
Now that you know how effective hyperbaric therapy is for limb preservation and how beneficial it can be for many different reasons, too, we are sure you may be inclined towards getting a few sessions. However, while the therapy is effective, choosing someone who knows the ins and outs of it in detail is extremely important. This is because, in the end, it is a medical procedure that needs to be carried out effectively.
While searching for the right place to get HBOT may seem daunting, we also have that aspect covered for you. There is no better place for this oxygen therapy than the Sculpted MD. This full-service health spa has its locations spread out through Denver and surrounding areas like Highlands Ranch, where they provide customers with exceptional procedures and therapies like hormone balancing, laser hair removal, anti-aging peptide therapy, compression therapy, HBOT, etc.
Conclusion
The medical world has flourished over the years, and therapies we didn’t even know existed have made their way around. If you heard about HBOT for limb preservation and wanted to gain more insight into it, this article was helpful for you. If you know someone who wants to get an HBOT, guide them toward Sculpted MD to them.
