Chronic Diseases and Pain

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Chronic Diseases and Pain

Crohn's/Colltis
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), that tend to be hereditary and affect approximately 1 in 100 people mostly adults between 20 and 40. In around 10% of cases, it is not possible for doctors to distinguish between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
Ulcerative colitis affects the rectum and variable amounts of the rest of the colon (the large bowel or intestine). Crohn’s disease, can affect any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. They usual flare-up with diarrhea and abdominal pain, then settles down again, although it is possible to have a single attack of the condition. In severe cases perianal wounds are common as well as internal fistulas and fissures with risk of perforation within skin, bladder, vagina and other parts of bowel. Common denominator is regional inflammation, local low blood supply (ischemia) and low oxygenation usually complicated with bacterial infection.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy limits the amount of inflammation in the bowels, and lowers levels of C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor alpha, markers of inflammation in the body. Pain has been alleviated, the patient’s weight improved, and bowel movements returned almost to normal.

The benefit of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis:

  • Increased oxygen delivery to all body tissues and reduced inflammation
  • Better oxygenation of the area around the wounds and fistulas triggers healing response and wound closure
  • Reduced pain and intake of pain medications
  • Reduced mental and physical stress
  • Improving restoration of bowel’s flora
  • Improved elimination of toxins and washout of the metabolic products
  • Eliminating bacteria and infection as well as increasing the effect of antibiotics
  • Enhancing the effect of medication
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia (FM) or fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic pain disorder. Symptoms include widespread or localized muscle and joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and tenderness. Most people with fibromyalgia experience fatigue, sleep disturbances, headache, anxiety, and memory problems. Some also report high sensitivity to noises, lights, smells, and temperature changes.
Female sufferers of fibromyalgia outnumber males by about 9 to 1. It is the second most common illness presented to rheumatologists, led only by arthritis. Researchers estimate that 75 percent of fibromyalgia cases go unreported. [ Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2011 ]
Fibromyalgia has no known cause. Researchers have observed abnormalities of central nervous system processes and imbalances of brain chemicals and growth hormone. People with fibromyalgia may have three times the normal concentration of Substance P, a spinal fluid chemical that amplifies pain signals. Many patients attribute the onset of fibromyalgia to a particular injury, illness, or traumatic event. The condition does not progress and does not damage bones, joints, or tissues.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been shown to reduce the pain and tenderness associated with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders. Some researchers believe HBOT also changes brain function associated with chronic pain conditions.
Lupus
Lupus is a chronic disease with a variety of symptoms caused by inflammation in one or more parts of the body. It is estimated that it affects more than 50,000 Canadians and 1.5 million Americans. Lupus is not contagious and is not related to AIDS or cancer. It belongs in the family of diseases that includes rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, and scleroderma.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incurable disease of the central nervous system. “Sclerosis” refers to scarring of the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. MS usually strikes young adults and in time can render a person unable to write, speak, and walk. Some 400,000 Americans live with MS, and 200 more are diagnosed every week. About 80% of people with MS experience cycles of remission and relapse.
In multiple sclerosis the body’s own immune system attacks the lines of communication between nerve cells. But scientists don’t know the root cause of this mechanism. Over the past two decades, extensive international medical research has demonstrated that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) can play an extremely important role in the treatment of MS. In many European countries, HBOT is now considered an integral part of the MS treatment program – in England alone, over 10,000 MS patients are currently receiving hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
Many MS people report improvements in their overall symptoms and their functional ability. Patients have reported improvements with their ataxia, numbness in their fingers and hands, balance, visual fields, concentration, pain, weakness, and dizziness.
The medical community has been rather slow to accept HBOT as an alternative therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS). However, there is scientific evidence to suggest that oxygen treatment does have beneficial effects for MS sufferers, and increasingly doctors worldwide are recommending it as part of their patients’ care plans.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments should be initiated as soon as the condition is diagnosed, and before irreversible lesions have become established. This does not mean that patients whose diagnosis was determined more than five years previously will not benefit.
Why is HBOT so effective for MS?
HBOT consists of administering pure oxygen under pressure. There is oxygen in every breath we take, but only 21% of it. In a hyperbaric chamber, you breathe in 100% oxygen at up to 2 times the normal atmospheric pressure.
The heightened pressure conditions allow the extra oxygen to dissolve in the blood plasma, enabling all areas of the body to become flooded with it, including those where circulation is poor or blocked.
Oxygen is essential to all body tissues, particularly injured ones that require oxygen to heal. Extra oxygenation through HBOT is proven to accelerate the healing process and reduce inflammation. Inflammation in the central nervous system is a signature characteristic of MS, which is one of the reasons why HBOT can retard the progression of the illness. HBOT is also known to boost energy, promote faster recovery from fatigue, reduce pain, and improve concentration and mental clarity, thus alleviating many of the symptoms of MS.
Neuropathy
Emerging research confirms that neuropathy is primarily caused by a lack of oxygen. This can be the result of poor blood circulation, pinching of sciatic nerve or its local blood supply, too much glucose in the blood, or toxic chemicals (prescription drugs, pesticides, cleaning solvents or substance abuse) creating excessive free radicals that negate available oxygen. When the nerve cell is deprived of oxygen it contracts, making itself smaller to conserve oxygen and this enlarges the gap (synaptic junction) between nerve cells. Nerve cells do not come into contact with one another. A nerve impulse must jump across this gap. When the gap gets too big, the electrical nerve impulse cannot make the transition across this gap, and nerve function is impaired.
Of the estimated 20 million people in the United States with diabetes, 3 million struggle with DPN – and even patients with pre-diabetes and impaired glucose (blood sugar) tolerance may have symptoms. The older the person is, the longer he or she has had diabetes, and the less-controlled the disease, the greater chance of feeling pain because of damaged nerves.
Fifty percent of patients with long-standing diabetes have numbness, burning, electrical sensations, stabbing, or shooting pain in their feet or legs—and it’s usually worse at night. While the pain is uncomfortable, the lack of sensation can have even worse consequences. If a person’s shoes fit improperly, are too tight, have rough spots inside, or rub when the person walks, the blisters, abrasions or cuts may not be felt. Because circulation is not as good as it is for people without diabetes, these wounds can become infected and very difficult to heal.
When prescription pain medications are administered, the primary goal is to numb the nerve roots at the level of the spine. In this way, the pain signals cannot reach the brain thus these dysfunctional nerve signals are not perceived as pain. In time the body becomes resilient to medications, requiring periodic dosage increases. This leads to numbness in the extremities, fuzzy thinking and loss of perception of knowing where your feet are in time and space. These symptoms can mimic Alzheimer’s and compound your medical situation.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been known to be effective in controlling and reversing the pain and dysfunction associated with diabetic and non-diabetic neuropathies of the arms, hands, legs and feet. Hyperbaric oxygen promotes healthy nerve function through healing instead of pain cover-up.

Hyperbaric oxygen:

  • Reduces swelling, increases energy production for nerve restoration
  • Eliminates inflammation, allowing healing to occur
  • Improves blood cell health, thus improving oxygen carrying and delivery efficiency
  • Greatly enhances white cell killing of unfriendly bacteria and some fungi at high oxygen pressures
  • Facilitates elimination of bone infections
  • Reduces the number of operations and deaths associated with poor circulation related tissue infections
  • Extremely important is its stimulation of new capillary and vessel growth, promoting nerve health
  • Finally, it promotes better tissue survival and healing of damaged tissue
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints. A chronic pain disorder afflicting some 19 million adult Americans, arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the US. The most common types are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but arthritis comprises more than 100 other inflammatory diseases and conditions, including fibromyalgia, gout, and lupus.
The definitive causes of arthritis are unknown. In osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, the cartilage, surrounding tissue, and bone may be destroyed by physical wear, infection, or aging. In rheumatoid arthritis, a faulty immune response may cause inflammation that erodes the joint linings called synovial membranes. There is no cure for arthritis. Many people with arthritis successfully manage or improve their quality of life with physical therapy, exercise, weight control, and medications.
International studies are finding that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is markedly superior to the routine treatment of RA. In 1995, the Proceedings of the Eleventh International Congress on Hyperbaric Medicine published the results of one particular study.
These results indicated the following effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the disease:

  • Remission: 23.4%
  • Obvious effect: 51.4%
  • Improvement: 16.2%
  • No effect: 8.1%

The total summarized effective rate of hyperbaric oxygen in treating RA was 91.9%. The authors of the study concluded, “In the treatment we find that hyperbaric oxygen is markedly superior to the routine treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.”
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has become a standard of practice for RA in many countries. Clinical practice has proved that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has good effects on analgesia, lowering blood sedimentation rate, stabilizing immunologic function, and strengthening the body’s resistance for eliminating pathogenic factors. It is also beneficial for the repair of the diseased joints.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has actually been found to inhibit the development of the disease process. HBOT can suppress inflammation due either to immune factors or infection. Moreover, daily hyperbaric oxygen therapy suppresses the inflammatory response even if the disease is fully developed; however, the treatment of RA with hyperbaric oxygen therapy is more effective in the early stages of the disease.

RSD Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy & CRPS Regional Pain Syndrome
​Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, CRPS, formerly known as RSD Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, is a progressive disease of the Autonomic Nervous System, and more specifically, the Sympathetic Nervous System. The pain is characterized as constant, extremely intense, and out of proportion to the original injury. The pain is typically accompanied by swelling, skin changes, extreme sensitivity, and can often be debilitating. It usually affects one or more of the four limbs but can occur in any part of the body and in over 70% of the victims it spreads to additional areas.
CRPS can follow a simple trauma (fall or sprain) a break or fracture (especially wrist and ankle) a sharp force injury (such as a knife or bullet wound), heart problems, infections, surgery, RSI/CTS, spinal injuries/disorders, or major trauma. But the precipitating cause is not always known. The original injury may happen weeks, months, or even years before the proper diagnosis is made, which contributes to this problem. CRPS strikes both men and women, but typically about 75% of patients are women. It strikes victims from 1 to 101, although about 65% of patients contract the disease in their thirties and/or forties.
There are four Main Symptoms/Criteria for a diagnosis of CRPS: constant chronic burning pain, inflammation, spasms-in blood vessels and muscles of the extremities, and insomnia/emotional disturbance (including limbic system changes). Not all four symptoms are required for a diagnosis but most patients do have at least three out of the four at any one time.
CRPS is ranked as the most painful form of chronic pain that exists today by the McGill Pain Index.
Hyperbaric oxygenation decreases inflammation and edema while increasing blood flow to the starved limbs and nerves that are damaged by the course of the disease.

Testimonials

The staff at Oklahoma Oasis HBOT continue to be professional, polite, and sensitive to my needs. They have literally contributed to saving my life and improving my mental and physical health unlike anything I have experienced. I am alive today because of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and my quality of life is better now than ever before in my life. The damaging effects of the numerous traumatic brain injuries I experienced no longer define my present nor my future. Thank you Oklahoma Oasis. You have been a God send!

Derek Dennis

Testimonials

We had an incredible experience at Oasis. Our teenage daughter was bitten by a brown recluse and headed downhill over the course of a week. With three dives in a 24 hour period, her rebound was incredible. After two more dives, she was totally out of the woods and ultimately ended up with a barely noticeable scar half the size of a grain of rice. The initial ER visit was a waste of time and money.

We built a photo documented report with details of the ordeal and treatment for them to use for promotion. We’re so grateful for the service because it saved our daughter from a lot of pain and what looked like the onset of necrosis. She was able to enjoy our 4th of July vacation.

The staff is great and they worked with us to get time-sensitive treatment. Thank God for the whole crew and the business!

Josh Kratochvil

testimonials

You will not find a better facility in Oklahoma to do your Hyperbaric Dives! The staff here are absolutely the greatest team ever! Always brings a smile to my face soon as I walk in the door. I’ve dove 41 times there now and can’t wait to get back into diving daily! I highly and very highly recommend you reach out to Oasis for all your health benefit needs!

Kris Morgan

testimonials

This place has been a HUGE blessing to my son! He suffered a concussion on Sept 27th during a varsity football game. Needless to say....he spent over 1,344 hours following that injury with a continuous headache, dizziness and many other issues. Someone asked us about Hyperbaric therapy and if we had checked into it.....it was the BEST DECISION that I have made in a long time to call and inquire about treatment. After 3 treatments he got relief. After 5 treatments he walked to my car headache free for the 1st time in 48 days. After 11 treatments the headache left and has not returned. After 20 treatments he has been 100% released to return to physical activity! As a football momma I am forever grateful to these amazing people for their love and kindness and their genuine desire to see people like my son healed and returning to their normal lives. If only we had known this was an option for treatment when he was 1st injured.

Trisha Whitman

testimonials

My daughter had a stroke in 2017 at the age of 6 yrs old. She had several brain surgeries and a long recovery, lost the use of her left arm and was left with major learning and physical disabilities. We discovered Oklahoma Oasis from an internet search and made the decision to take our daughter for hyperbaric oxygen treatments under their stroke
protocol. She completed 80 "dives" in about 6 months' time and we saw a HUGE difference in her. Memory, behavior, sleep, physical, everything was positively affected, and has remained so even four months after treatment. She still has a long ways to go, but we will continue to bring her to Oklahoma Oasis for hyperbaric O2 treatments whenever we're able. Everyone at the clinic has become like family to us. They love our daughter (now 8 yrs old) so much and treat her like royalty. They care about everything from her comfort in the chamber to her overall recovery. Sharon, Lenore, Savannah, Hannah, Paul and Greg are amazing! I'm so happy God led us to this clinic and these treatments for our precious daughter. If you have ever been curious about hyperbaric oxygen treatments, I encourage you to contact the clinic for more info.

Honest words from a thankful mom,
Jaimie W.

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