Media

Media release – July 2011

Oxygen therapy no longer just for athletes and celebrities… and is now available in Cleveland

Not so long ago, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy was the domain of elite athletes and celebrities, but these days, the treatment is becoming increasingly popular as people from all walks of life discover its benefits.

Neil Pont, of Humanergetic Therapies in Cleveland, is one of only a handful of practitioners in Australia providing mild hyperbaric therapy, and is also the Queensland distributor authorised to sell the Australian-made Hypo₂ chamber.

Oxygen therapy has been proven to help recovery from surgery, sports injuries and burns, as well as managing symptoms from conditions including chronic fatigue, allergies, stress, skin conditions and fibromyalgia.

Neil has been a qualified health therapist for more than 20 years, and became interested in oxygen therapy after training in AtlasPROfilax®. (This is a non-chiropractic technique involving alignment of the atlas – the first cervical vertebrae connecting the skull and spine – and Neil is one of only 11 qualified practitioners in Australia).

"While I was training in AtlasPROfilax®, it became very apparent how important oxygen is in maintaining health and vitality. Everyone understands they need to breathe air, but not many people understand just how important it is to have plenty of oxygen in cells and tissue.

"Oxygen actually makes up around 90 per cent of our energy – only 10 per cent comes from food and water – so the amount of oxygen we put into our bodies is very important."

Neil said while working to realign the atlas he became increasingly conscious of the need for energy to flow freely via oxygen in the blood, which then prompted him to research oxygen-based therapies.

"It became clear that the relatively new technique of mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy was delivering positive health results that were indisputable."

The therapy involves the patient relaxing in an inflated chamber (with windows so they can see out), and simply breathing concentrated oxygen, usually for around an hour.

"Of the air the average person breathes, only 21 per cent of it is oxygen, and of that, we only use four per cent," Neil said.

"In the chamber, Henry's law of physics applies – that gas (oxygen) under pressure infuses into liquid (blood plasma). It's the pressure that allows oxygen to saturate through the tissues and cells, helping the body to heal and detoxify."

This type of pressurised oxygen – as opposed to simply breathing oxygen through a nose piece – enables tissue and cells to absorb up to 400 per cent more oxygen, which helps the body heal and detoxify up to three times faster.

Among Neil's clients are athletes, who regularly have a session in the hyperbaric chamber before they compete. People with chronic fatigue syndrome, stress, and different forms of cancer are also now using the hyperbaric chamber.

Mild hyperbaric therapy has also been proven to help manage symptoms of autism, multiple sclerosis, asthma, insomnia, ADD and sleep disorders.

Neil recommends the therapy as a great way to maintain health and vitality – he usually has three to four sessions a week in the chamber himself.

"It's great for boosting energy, decreasing stress and bringing clarity to the mind."