Finally, some good news for those suffering from fibromyalgia.
It looks like hyperbaric oxygen therapy has the ability to ease pain caused by fibromyalgia and may even reverse this painful condition.
A recent study, conducted by scientists from the Tel Aviv University in Israel, included 60 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
In a period of two months, these women got five 90-minute sessions in specially designed hyperbaric oxygen chambers. They have received these treatments each week.
In these chambers, women breathed in pure oxygen at an atmospheric pressure that is twice higher than the one we usually experience. In this way, the lungs receive larger quantities of oxygen.
About half of the women finished the two-month research, taking 40 treatments and more than 70% of them had significant improvement in brain activity.
Most of them have decreased the number of medications they have taken and some of them have completely eliminated medications.
According to lead researcher Dr. Shai Efrati, the regular intake of medications has eased the pain in fibromyalgia patients, but taking medications couldn’t eliminate the cause for this condition. However, the use of PPM has helped some patients to get rid of this painful condition.
Dr. Efrati says that this special oxygen therapy is designed in a way that affects the basic cause of this condition – abnormal brain activity.
The FDA has approved this therapy for treating decompression sickness, a condition linked to scuba diving, and 13 other health conditions and disorders.
Unfortunately, fibromyalgia sufferers won’t be able to get treatments covered by their health insurance at least not in the near future.