As the study of health and medicine progresses, we are learning more and more that healthy cells mean a healthy body.
Apart from taking care of the body as a whole, it is highly recommended to take care of each of our parts internally, from tissues to organs to the blood and right down to the tiniest cells. To keep cell damage at bay, it’s important to provide the body with better nutrition that is high in antioxidants, exercise regularly, reduce stress, lessen alcohol intake, get enough rest, and take care of our mental health.
Of course, many people also turn to alternative treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to help take care of the body’s cells. HBOT increases stem cells, which provide the body with new cells that regenerate or heal damaged cells.
In this blog, we discuss how hyperbaric oxygen and stem cells go hand in hand to heal the body and promote overall well being.
Our body is made up of many types of cells that have their own particular function, such as red blood cells that carry the oxygen around our body. When these cells start to deteriorate, they are unable to divide or regenerate. Stem cells are responsible for providing new cells in the body that replace other cells when they are damaged or lost.
Stem cells are able to divide over and over or replicate themselves to produce new cells. As new cells are produced, they are able to change into other cell types within the body. For example, if you are experiencing liver damage, stem cells are able to regenerate or replace the damaged cells in the liver.
This is why stem cells are extremely important and why stem cell therapy has continuously grown in popularity.
Stem cell therapy is a form of regenerative medicine that uses stem cells or derivatives to increase the repair response of injured or dysfunctional tissues in the body. It is now being used in organ transplants, using cells instead of organ donors.
Stem cell therapy can be extremely beneficial for people with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, burns, spinal cord injuries, cancer, type 1 diabetes, and osteoarthritis. Stem cell therapy is an outpatient procedure that uses the body’s natural ability to heal in order to regenerate damaged tissues, reduce or eliminate pain, and heal injuries faster and more effectively.
Stem cells can divide into cartilage, bone, or fat cells to boost healing in the body. With stem cell therapy, the main cause of pain or injury is targeted and treated without having to rely on medication or surgery. This means a shorter recovery time than opting for surgery and increased mobility and function.
Stem cell therapy has been proven to be an effective treatment method for many ailments and chronic illnesses. There is evidence to suggest that it is even more effective when combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Even without turning to stem cell therapy, hyperbaric oxygen has been proven to increase stem cells in the body. This is because hyperbaric oxygen works by providing additional oxygenation in the body, which increases stem cell production.
When we breathe normally, we typically reach 96% to 98% oxygenation, which provides our cells with enough oxygen to create energy for our essential bodily functions. With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, breathing in a hyperbaric chamber with increased pressure provides the body with over five times the amount of oxygen from regular breathing. This injects oxygen into the blood plasma that improves blood circulation, which in turn boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation, and supports the generation of stem cells.
There have been multiple studies on how prolonged oxygen exposure in a hyperbaric environment releases stem cells. Hyperbaric oxygen triggers the stimulation and mobilization of stem cells throughout our body and are moved into certain tissues that are in need of regeneration and repair.
A particular study was conducted to determine if exposure to hyperbaric oxygen therapy would mobilize bone marrow-derived stem cells in humans and animals. CD34, a blood marker that is associated with the release of stem cells, was observed in patients. After a single hyperbaric oxygen therapy session, CD 34 was observed to have increased dramatically.
Before patients were exposed to hyperbaric oxygen, they had very few blood cells that were positive for CD34. Subsequent to each hyperbaric oxygen therapy session, an elevation in CD34 was observed. Of course, one session provides short-term effects, but around 20 to 40 sessions would bring a significant increase in stem cells. Some have found an increase of 4 to 8 times the amount of stem cells as a result of long-term hyperbaric oxygen exposure.
Stem cell therapy has been gaining popularity over the years, whether it’s through a stem cell injection, stem cell IV, or exosomes. Whether it’s boosting our own stem cells through hyperbaric oxygen therapy or using stem cells from other sources like in most stem cell therapies, we get a more vigorous healing response when deposited in the location needed.
We now know that both hyperbaric oxygen therapy and stem cell therapy are effective forms of treatment that encourage healing in the body on a cellular level, so it only makes sense that a combination of the two therapies is exceptionally beneficial.
Combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy with stem cell therapy has proven to magnify the benefits of both treatments, especially when it comes to healing responses. Exposure to the hyperbaric chamber puts the body in an environment that promotes maximum healing.
Pre-conditioning the body to hyperbaric oxygen allows for the proper signals to be in place to produce that healing effect. HBOT reduces inflammation in the body, which regulates stem cells. Putting the body in a state of regeneration actually primes it for stem cell therapy by releasing our own stem cells into the area that is already being treated with an additional amount of stem cells.
After stem cell therapy, it is suggested to continue hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a booster of the benefits that come from stem cell therapy even after a year. With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, we see a continuous increase in our own natural stem cell release and ATP production, which is the energy system of our cells.
The renewal and generation of cells are extremely important for our overall health, which is why stem cells are so important. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has massive benefits for the stem cells over a prolonged period of time.
If you’d like to learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy and what it can do for you, feel free to contact us today.
