Hyperbaric therapy is traditionally known as a therapy for decompression sickness. It delivers pure oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body to improve oxygen flow and the rate of healing. In the past few years, scientists have discovered the efficiency of this therapy in reversing aging damage.
Therefore, in this article, we will explore how hyperbaric therapy can help in reversing aging. However, before that, let’s see how this therapy functions:
Hyperbaric therapy is a non-invasive treatment option that increases oxygen in our organs, lungs, and heart. When we are normally breathing the fresh air, our RBCs carry oxygen and transport it to cells, tissues, and organs. However, when any patient is receiving hyperbaric therapy, they need to enter a chamber, which is pressurized. This pressurized tube delivers pure oxygen to the body.
Under the environment of the chamber, our body starts carrying oxygen gas by various liquids of the body, such as lipids, plasma, etc. These carriers start transporting oxygen throughout the body, which improves oxygen delivery. Since oxygen is the major ingredient to the healing of injury and wounds, this healing process is accelerated inside the body.
The increase in oxygen is also beneficial for our skin. Below we have explored how:
How Hyperbaric Therapy Helps in Reversing Aging?
1. Rejuvenated Skin
The skincare market is a huge business for clinics and research centers, and has the power to decrease the loss of skin elasticity and rejuvenate skin. This reduces wrinkles and fine lines on the face.
On the other hand, the oxygen facial gives blasts of oxygen on the face with high-pressure to smoothen and rejuvenate the skin. However, it is still believed that a skincare regimen, including hyaluronic acid, oxygen, and stem cells can’t penetrate our skin through any therapy.
For this reason, hyperbaric therapy offers a convenient and promising option. This therapy is originally used for decompression sickness, as it can offer pure oxygen to the body at high pressure. That makes it effective in quickly healing burns and non-healing wounds.
Similarly, it helps rejuvenate the skin as well. With age, the tissues and cells in our body start to age and become hypoxic. For this reason, our tissues start receiving a lower amount of oxygen until it is fully cut off and cell death occurs. This condition is also very common in various other health ailments.
However, hyperbaric therapy can help oxygen dissolve in body liquids, deliver pure oxygen, and reduce hypoxia in face cells and tissues. This is what leads to rejuvenated skin and fewer wrinkles and fine lines.
One of the most interesting things about this treatment is its countless applications. One of the newer lesser known ones is for asthma. Some early studies have shown that these treatments might be very beneficial for people who suffer from asthma. As most people who suffer from asthma know, asthma medication is very expensive. So anything that can help lower the cost or doses of asthma medication you must take is great news. Another thing most people with asthma don’t consider are prescription advocacy programs. These programs help you get all types of medications for lower prices. You can even get Advair Diskus discounts which can help you save hundreds of dollars every year.
2. Elongated Telomeres
For multiple decades now, hyperbaric therapy is being tested at different concentrations for its efficiency in various health ailments. So, we have observed prominent improvements in brain injury, stroke, ASD, and age-related skin damage. In this particular study, the effectiveness of HBOT is being examined for reversing the age damage in healthy adults. It aims to observe whether hyperbaric therapy can slow down the progress of such changes at the cellular level or not.
At the starting of the trial, 35 healthy adults, over the age of 64, received a total of 60 HBOT sessions for almost 90 days. For every individual, the blood samples were taken before, during, and at the end of the treatment. These sample cells were compared to observe the outcome.
The results revealed that hyperbaric therapy can reverse the damage done by the natural aging process. This was concluded based on telomeres length.
The telomeres that are attached to our chromosomes grow shorter with age, which is a common reason for aging skin. When our cells suffer damage with age, the protective senescence of the skin stops dividing. This action leads to telomeres shortening, and with every DNA replication, telomeres become shorter and shorter. So much so that at one point, DNA replication stops and cell apoptosis occurs. Various natural factors contribute to the acceleration of this process now, such as stress, lifestyle habits, smoking, alcohol, etc.
After the HBOT therapy, telomeres length in these individuals increased at a 20% to 38% rate. The senescent cell percentage is reduced by 11% to 37%.
Everywhere across the globe, scientists and researchers are trying to find a method to elongate telomeres for rejuvenated skin. Hyperbaric therapy is known to not only reduce the shortening of the telomeres but also increase their length. This simply means that the aging process is being reversed at the molecular level.
Until now, the only interventions to the aging process we knew were regular exercise and lifestyle changes, which seemed to have some impact on the shortening process. However, with the rate at which HBOT lengthens telomeres, it can prove to be a ground-breaking invention.
However, to observe this impact, you need to receive HBOT therapy for a few sessions; as in the case of this study as well.
Conclusion
Hyperbaric therapy research to reverse aging is an innovative, life-changing study that can offer promising results to many patients. However, for a proper therapy regimen, you should consider a skin specialist, inform them of your existing skin conditions, and then create a plan for hyperbaric therapy. Although HBOT is non-invasive, you should still receive it in a guided environment under the supervision of healthcare specialists.
