You breathe medical oxygen
Room air contains about 21% oxygen. During HBOT, you breathe prescribed medical-grade oxygen. At RX-O2, our chambers are pressurized with air while oxygen is delivered through your breathing equipment.
What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Understanding HBOT · RX-O2 Hyperbaric Clinics
What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
More oxygen. More support for healing.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is a medical treatment that combines breathing medical-grade oxygen with increased pressure inside a chamber. Together, they increase the oxygen dissolved in your blood's plasma, helping deliver oxygen to tissues that need it.
At RX-O2 in Scottsdale and Glendale, we help you understand how this therapy may fit your goals, your condition, and your existing care plan.
FDA-cleared chambersAll monoplace and multiplace chambers at both clinics.
Care guided by a prescriptionMedical evaluation, an individual plan, and trained staff.
22 years in the ValleyHelping patients get familiar with hyperbaric care.
Oxygen + pressure
The chamber changes how oxygen reaches your tissues.
Oxygen is essential to cellular energy, tissue repair, and many immune functions. HBOT creates a controlled environment that allows more oxygen to dissolve into the liquid part of your blood.
Pressure increases oxygen availability
Increasing oxygen's partial pressure allows more of it to dissolve in plasma. This principle, called Henry's law, is a foundation of hyperbaric medicine.
Oxygen moves into tissues
The higher oxygen level in the blood strengthens the gradient that moves oxygen into tissue. This can support areas where injury, swelling, or damaged small blood vessels have limited oxygen delivery.
Why can HBOT help when a pulse oximeter already reads normally? A pulse oximeter estimates oxygen saturation on hemoglobin in red blood cells. HBOT also increases oxygen dissolved directly in plasma. A normal fingertip reading does not measure all aspects of tissue oxygen delivery.
The biology behind the treatment
Helping create the conditions for healing.
The NHSA training curriculum explores several ways oxygen under pressure affects the body. These mechanisms help explain HBOT's role in selected medical conditions.
Oxygen delivery
Higher dissolved oxygen levels can improve oxygen availability in tissues affected by reduced blood supply or injury.
Swelling and inflammation
HBOT can reduce edema in certain injuries while increasing oxygen availability. It also influences inflammatory signaling and the behavior of immune cells.
Tissue repair and small blood vessels
Oxygen supports collagen production and wound repair. Repeated treatments can stimulate signals involved in new small blood vessel formation, known as angiogenesis.
Support for infection care
In selected infections, HBOT supports oxygen-dependent immune defenses and can inhibit some bacteria and their toxins. It is used alongside the appropriate antibiotics, surgery, or wound care.
The benefit, treatment schedule, and strength of evidence depend on the condition being treated. A biological mechanism does not establish the same outcome for every patient or diagnosis.
Established medical applications
Examples of conditions with recognized roles for HBOT include:
- Selected difficult-to-heal wounds, including certain diabetic foot wounds.
- Delayed radiation injury affecting soft tissue or bone.
- Compromised grafts and flaps with threatened tissue survival.
- Certain serious infections, including refractory bone infection.
- Selected acute injuries and sudden hearing loss, evaluated promptly by the appropriate medical team.
A field that continues to develop
Research also explores HBOT's effects on cellular signaling, stem and progenitor cells, and neurologic recovery. Some applications are off-label or remain under investigation, with evidence that varies by diagnosis.
A consultation gives you a chance to discuss the evidence for your situation, what a treatment plan would involve, and how progress could be evaluated.
Talk with a hyperbaric specialist
Get familiar with the setting
A medical chamber, with options for your comfort.
Both RX-O2 locations offer FDA-cleared monoplace and multiplace chambers. Our team helps you choose the setting that fits your treatment and practical needs.
Monoplace chambers
Designed for one person, with room to sit upright or recline. Your team prepares your breathing equipment and monitors your session from outside the chamber.
Multiplace chambers
Larger chambers designed to accommodate more than one person. They offer options for shared treatments, parent-and-child care, and mobility needs when arranged and medically cleared.
Support from the start
If enclosed spaces or getting into the chamber concern you, tell us. We can show you the available options and discuss the help you may need before booking treatment.
A brief history of hyperbaric medicine
Centuries of curiosity.
Decades of medical progress.
The idea of using pressure in medicine came before oxygen was identified in the 1770s. Modern HBOT grew from that early curiosity, the needs of divers and tunnel workers, and research into how oxygen reaches living tissue.
The discovery that matters to patients today
Blood carries oxygen on red blood cells and dissolved in plasma. Research by Dr. Ite Boerema and colleagues helped demonstrate how much the plasma pathway could contribute under increased oxygen pressure.
That principle remains central to understanding modern hyperbaric treatment.
View the 1960 publication record-
1660s
Early experiments with compressed air
Henshaw's “domicilium” explored the use of changing air pressure for health. It was an early ancestor of the medical pressure chamber, before oxygen-based treatment was possible.
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1873 and the late 1800s
Bridges, tunnels, and decompression
Andrew Smith documented “caisson disease” among Brooklyn Bridge workers. Understanding the effects of compressed air and pressure changes helped drive the development of recompression care.
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1928
The remarkable “hyperbaric hotel”
Orville Cunningham's large steel sphere in Cleveland housed a compressed-air hospital. The striking structure represents an ambitious early chapter in pressure therapy, before today's oxygen protocols and clinical standards.
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1950s–1960
Oxygen dissolved in plasma takes center stage
Boerema's animal experiments explored oxygen delivery under pressure when very little hemoglobin was available. The work, reported in “Life without blood,” helped establish a foundation for modern hyperbaric physiology.
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1967
A professional medical community forms
The Undersea Medical Society was established. It later became the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, bringing diving and clinical hyperbaric medicine together.
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Today
Established care and continuing research
HBOT has recognized roles in wound care, selected infections, radiation injury, and diving medicine. Research continues into other applications, with patient selection and evidence guiding clinical decisions.
Historical overview adapted from the National Hyperbaric Safety Association training materials supplied by RX-O2. Early compressed-air treatments were predecessors of modern HBOT; historical use alone does not establish effectiveness.
Medical care starts before pressurization
The team and the process matter.
- A medical evaluation: your provider reviews your condition, medications, and relevant health history before prescribing treatment.
- A treatment plan: oxygen exposure, pressure, session length, and frequency are selected for your clinical needs.
- Preparation and monitoring: trained staff check your readiness, explain the equipment, and monitor your session.
- Clear chamber rules: electronics and battery-powered devices are not allowed inside. Follow the team's clothing, product, and personal-item instructions.
Education is part of our clinic culture
Care supported by hands-on hyperbaric training.
RX-O2 serves as an NHSA teaching facility, and our facilities have received NHSA Facility Certification of Compliance. The training curriculum connects oxygen physiology with chamber operations, patient preparation, and emergency procedures.
Our Medical Director, Marvin A. Borsand, DO, FACOS, FACCS, guides medical care. Our safety and technical team supports the preparation and operation of each session.
Meet our medical and safety team →What does HBOT feel like?
A chance to settle in, with a team nearby.
Many patients use their session to rest or enjoy approved reading material. The most noticeable sensation is often ear fullness as the pressure changes, similar to what you may feel on an airplane.
Your team teaches you how to equalize your ears. If you feel pain or discomfort, tell the staff immediately so they can respond and adjust the process as needed.
Take a closer look at your first HBOT visit →300+ five-star patient reviews
Explore the experiences patients share across our Scottsdale and Glendale clinics.
Find each clinic's patient reviews →
Common questions
A few things patients often ask.
Bring your questions to our team. You do not need a background in hyperbaric medicine to take the first step.
Schedule a consultationIs HBOT the same as breathing oxygen at home?
HBOT combines medical oxygen with an increase in pressure around your whole body. Breathing supplemental oxygen at normal room pressure is a different treatment. The chamber environment changes how much oxygen can dissolve in your blood.
What does ATA mean?
ATA means atmospheres absolute, a measure of total pressure. Normal air pressure at sea level is about 1 ATA. Your provider chooses the treatment pressure and oxygen exposure as part of your prescription.
Do all hyperbaric chambers provide the same treatment?
No. Chamber design, permitted operating pressure, oxygen delivery, clinical oversight, and the prescribed protocol all matter. Both RX-O2 locations use FDA-cleared monoplace and multiplace chambers. Our team can explain the equipment and treatment options available to you.
How many treatments will I need?
That depends on your condition, goals, and response. Many treatment plans involve a series of sessions with progress reviewed along the way. Your consultation is the place to discuss a reasonable starting plan and how your provider will evaluate results.
Does HBOT have side effects or risks?
Possible effects include ear or sinus discomfort, pressure-related injury, and temporary vision changes. Less common complications include oxygen toxicity. Screening, prescribed oxygen exposure, and trained monitoring help manage risk. Your provider will review your individual health history before treatment.
Does FDA clearance mean every use of HBOT is approved?
FDA clearance relates to a medical device and its intended uses. It does not mean every condition discussed in HBOT research has an FDA-cleared indication or proven benefit. Your provider can explain the evidence and whether a proposed use is off-label.
Find out how HBOT may fit your care.
You do not need all the answers before contacting us. Bring your questions, your current care plan, and what you hope to understand. A consultation can help you weigh potential benefits, uncertainty, practical needs, and costs before making a treatment decision.
Learn more: This overview draws on NHSA training materials, hyperbaric medical references, and the clinic information provided by RX-O2.