Lyme disease was first seen in 1975 in the Lyme, CT area. Its discovery was catalyzed by a higher than normal percentage of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis cases. Lyme disease, which is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, and transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected black legged tick, results in a number of symptoms including swelling joints, stiffness, and severe ongoing pain. Lyme disease can precipitate joint infections, heart infections, and nervous system infections, all of which can eventually lead to death. That is why it is so important to diagnose and treat Lyme disease as quickly as possible. In recent years, Lyme disease has been on the rise, both in regards to the number of cases and the extent to which the illness has spread throughout a wide geographical swath.

The pain experienced by those suffering from Lyme disease is at times disabling. Some people respond well to a course of antibiotics and are better within weeks. However, hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment has been proven helpful to those Lyme disease sufferers whose pain levels are unmanageable.

The therapeutic principle of HBOT, which is performed at hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers, is reliant upon the partial pressure of oxygen throughout the tissues of the body. The benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have been well documented in regards to treatment for pain caused by Lyme disease, and there are a number of hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers throughout the United States that treat chronic pain caused by Lyme disease and other illnesses. Many of these hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers accept health insurance.

HBO treatment is an oxygen delivery system that provides patients who visit hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers with 100 percent O2. Hyperbaric oxygen of the sort provided at hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers is not only an effective treatment for Lyme disease related pain, but is also used in conjunction with anti coagulation therapy as a means of treating radiation necrosis.

Radiation necrosis is a focal structural lesion typically occurring after radiation therapy has been employed to treat cancerous tumors. It usually forms at the original site of the tumor and is extremely painful. Many patients who go to hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers are suffering from radiation necrosis, and they find the oxygenating effects of treatment at hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers provide a great deal of relief, both acutely and in the long term.

The health benefits of a high pressure environment like that found within hyperbaric oxygen chambers happen as a result of the direct compressive effects of the chamber and from the increased availability of oxygen to the entire body. This is why hyperbaric oxygen therapy therapy that is administered to patients at hyperbaric oxygen treatment centers can alleviate chronic pain symptoms associated with many illnesses.