Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Marietta: Does It Really Work for Pain?

When pain won’t let up, it’s natural to look for options beyond medications, injections, or surgery. That’s why many people in Marietta and beyond are asking about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)—a treatment that delivers oxygen under pressure to help support the body’s healing process. It’s not a new trend; it’s a medically recognized therapy that’s been used for decades for specific conditions such as wound healing, carbon monoxide poisoning, and decompression sickness. But more recently, patients and clinicians have been exploring whether HBOT might also play a role in reducing chronic or inflammatory pain.

Oxygen is vital for healing. Every cell in your body relies on it to repair tissue, manage inflammation, and produce energy. In certain injuries or chronic conditions, tissues may not get enough oxygen due to poor circulation or swelling. HBOT works by delivering pure oxygen at higher-than-normal atmospheric pressure, allowing more oxygen to dissolve into the bloodstream and reach damaged tissues.

If you’re struggling with ongoing pain and want to explore safe, medically guided, non-surgical options, our Marietta team at Medici Orthopaedics & Spine can help you understand whether HBOT—or another approach—is the right next step. The goal isn’t just to reduce pain—it’s to restore movement, energy, and confidence in how your body feels every day.

What Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Actually Is

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is breathing high-concentration oxygen in a pressurized chamber so your blood can carry more dissolved oxygen to tissues throughout the body.

What “pressure” means (ATA) and why it matters

Pressure in hyperbaric medicine is often discussed as ATA (atmospheres absolute). For clinical HBOT, the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) describes HBOT as breathing near-100% oxygen in a chamber pressurized above sea level pressure—commonly at or above 1.4 ATA (and UHMS-approved indications typically involve higher pressures, often at least 2 ATA). 

Why that matters for patients:

• The pressure is what allows oxygen to dissolve into the bloodstream at higher levels than normal.
• “Mild” or low-pressure settings are not the same as medical HBOT protocols for UHMS indications. 

Types of chambers

Most patients will hear these two broad categories:

• Monoplace chamber: usually designed for one person
• Multiplace chamber: designed for more than one person at a time
  (Your clinician determines what’s appropriate based on medical needs and facility capabilities.)

What a typical session feels like

Most people describe it as similar to flying or diving in terms of ear pressure.

Common experience points:

• Pressurization: you may feel “ear popping” and pressure changes (like altitude changes)
• Time in chamber: often involves a set session duration determined by protocol and diagnosis (this can vary)
• Comfort and safety: supervised settings typically coach patients on equalizing ear pressure and follow safety procedures throughout treatment. 

Medical vs. “wellness spa” HBOT

This is a big distinction in today’s marketplace. The FDA has emphasized the importance of safe use of hyperbaric devices and following proper instructions and protocols, noting reports of serious injuries and deaths associated with HBOT device use. 

Why medical supervision matters:

• appropriate screening for contraindications,
• diagnosis-driven protocols,
• trained staff and safety standards,
• clear goals and reassessment.

How HBOT Could Help With Pain 

Increased oxygen delivery to stressed or injured tissues

• Higher oxygen availability can help tissues that are struggling due to swelling, compromised blood flow, or healing demands.
• Better oxygen delivery supports the body’s repair environment (think: “more resources for healing”). 

Potential anti-inflammatory effects and swelling reduction

• If swelling and inflammation are part of the pain driver, reducing them may relieve pressure on sensitive structures—especially nerves.
• Less inflammation often means improved movement tolerance and fewer flare cycles. 

Support for tissue repair processes

HBOT is widely discussed in clinical medicine as a supportive therapy in scenarios where tissue repair is central—helping the body create a better environment for recovery and rebuilding (without promising a “regrowth” miracle). 

Nervous system effects (why it’s being explored in chronic pain)

Some chronic pain conditions involve a nervous system that becomes “stuck” in an overly sensitive state (often called central sensitization). Researchers are exploring whether HBOT may influence these pathways in select cases—but this area is still developing and very diagnosis-dependent. 

What HBOT Is Established For

When patients ask, “Does HBOT work for pain?” the safest, most honest way to answer starts here: HBOT has well-established, evidence-based medical indications—and that matters for three big reasons:

• Safety: medical protocols exist because pressure + high oxygen isn’t something to “wing.”
• Coverage: insurance (including Medicare) generally follows recognized indications, not broad symptom labels like “pain.”
• Expected outcomes: when the diagnosis matches what HBOT is designed to help, results are more predictable and measurable. 

Widely recognized, medically supported uses 

The Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) maintains a widely referenced list of indications where HBOT is supported by scientific and clinical evidence. 

A few examples that often overlap with pain—because the underlying condition improves—include:

• Enhancement of healing in selected problem wounds
  
  • For certain non-healing or complicated wounds, HBOT may help support healing—often reducing pain as tissue health improves. 
• Radiation tissue injury (late effects of radiation)
  
  • When radiation damages tissue over time, HBOT may be used as part of treatment; pain can improve as damaged tissue recovers. 
• Certain severe infections
  
  • Some serious infections (like clostridial myonecrosis/gas gangrene) are recognized indications—pain relief may occur as infection and tissue injury are addressed. 
• Crush injury, compartment syndrome, and other acute traumatic ischemias
  
  • In selected acute trauma situations where tissue oxygenation is threatened, HBOT can be part of care; pain may decrease as swelling and tissue stress improve. 

The Evidence for HBOT in Pain Conditions

Pain conditions with emerging/promising evidence

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

CRPS is studied because it often involves a mix of:

• persistent pain,
• inflammation and swelling changes,
• nervous system sensitization,
• and functional impairment.

Some clinical studies and reviews suggest HBOT may reduce pain and swelling and improve function in certain CRPS cases, but limitations remain:

• many studies are small,
• protocols vary (pressure, number of sessions, timing),
• and results aren’t uniform across all patient subtypes. 

Fibromyalgia (selected patient populations)

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have explored HBOT for fibromyalgia and suggest potential improvements in pain and function for some groups—but results can be inconsistent due to:

• differences in study design,
• differing HBOT protocols,
• and varied patient selection (not everyone responds the same way). 

Pain situations where HBOT may help indirectly

A lot of real-world “pain relief” from HBOT is best understood as pain improving because healing improves, not because HBOT is directly “treating pain nerves” in every case.

Examples (diagnosis-dependent) include:

• chronic pain linked to non-healing tissue injury,
• pain driven by ongoing inflammation and tissue stress,
• complicated recovery situations where tissue oxygen needs are high.

A helpful way to frame it:

• Indirect benefit: less inflammation + better tissue repair environment → pain reduces
• Direct nerve treatment: not always the mechanism, and not always the best fit

Get Answers—And a Conservative-First Plan

Living with persistent pain can make even the simplest parts of life—working, sleeping, moving—feel exhausting. But you don’t have to “push through” it forever or accept pain as your new normal. Relief starts with clarity—understanding what’s actually causing your pain and then choosing the treatment that targets the root, not just the symptoms.

At Medici Orthopaedics & Spine, we believe in a conservative-first approach: using the least invasive, most effective methods to restore comfort and function. Whether it’s Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) or another evidence-based treatment, the right plan begins with an accurate diagnosis and a team that listens.

If you’re curious whether HBOT could play a role in your pain management plan—or if you simply want to know which non-surgical, drug-minimizing options make sense for you—our Marietta team will take the time to explain what HBOT can and can’t do. From there, we’ll map out a personalized plan focused on the least invasive path to better function and lasting relief.

Contact Medici Orthopaedics & Spine

• Website: https://www.mediciortho.com/
• Main Phone: +1-844-328-4624

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