HBO Therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a revolutionary medical technology, useful for the treatment of acute injuries as well as for the enhancement of healing chronic disorders in horses.  Proved effective in human medicine, HBOT is used as an adjunct therapy to other medications and procedures.  Clinical experience has shown that this same technology can be applied successfully to many medical conditions of the horse.

 Acute conditions, including injuries sustained due to trauma to the legs or body, nervous system damage and surgical trauma (incisions), benefit from HBOT.  The general principle behind HBOT is that hyper oxygenation reduces tissue swelling and enhances oxygen delivery to injured tissues by increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the plasma.  Increasing oxygen aids in salvaging damaged tissue that would otherwise be lost from necrosis (tissue death).

 Chronic conditions, including poor healing wounds or wounds that involve a large surface area; bone infections; internal abscesses or other infections that result in tissue destruction; loss of blood supply and necrosis, also benefit from HBOT.  Acute injuries or inflammatory processes may progress to the chronic state if left untreated or are undiscovered until an advanced state.  Using HBOT for these circumstances enhances normal body processes, such as, stimulation of new blood vessel growth, enhancing the white blood cell’s ability to kill bacteria, stimulation of production of connective tissue cells and connective tissue.  Important factors in healing any wound or infection are, of course, an accurate diagnosis along with selection of appropriate medical therapy.  HBOT enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics and other treatments as well as their ability to reach the desired target destination. 

 As mentioned, HBOT is effective for many types of wounds including large surface wounds from trauma, injection reactions, spider bites and pressure sores.  HBOT decreases tissue swelling and therefore salvages damaged tissues when used in the case of traumatic injuries.  In the case of chronic wounds, HBOT assists the skin covering the wound and stimulates collagen production.

 Internal abscesses may occur in the lungs or in the abdomen and are rarely diagnosed early in the course of the disease.  Often when these abscesses are diagnosed, there is a thick-walled fibrous connective tissue capsule surrounding them that impairs antibiotics from reaching the affected area.  This results in prolonged antibiotic treatment often with no resolution of the illness at a high cost to the owner and potentially fatal consequences for the animal.  To reiterate, HBOT enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics and other treatments as well as their ability to reach the desired target destination. 

 HBOT can also be used for training injuries in equine athletes.  The beneficial effects would include reduction of tissue swelling and inflammation due to vasoconstriction resulting in a decrease in tissue edema, and enhancement of the connective tissue repair process.

 For more information on this therapy, click on http://equinehyperbarics.com