11/16/2025
We may need to start slow and gentle with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and Fibromyalgia.
By doing lower pressures and lower percentages of oxygen with HBOT, we're preparing the body to be able to handle higher pressures if we need to go there.
There's quite a bit of research on using HBOT for fibromyalgia, and the response rate seems to be really high.
Most of the research for fibromyalgia has been done at 2.0 atmospheres or more.
However, what's another thing we know about people with fibromyalgia?
Their autonomic nervous system is likely already pretty taxed.
They may have one or more autoimmune diseases underneath this fibromyalgia diagnosis, and ultimately they could be very sensitive to oxidative stress.
We also know that hyperbaric is an oxidative therapy. And so, is it possible that putting this person at 2.0 atmospheres or more right out of the gate would overexpose them, causing an increased oxidative stress response that they may not respond well to?
If we understood their story, knew that they had fibromyalgia, but also got a better feeling for where they were on the oxidative stress scale and/or understood if there were other comorbidities that might make them more sensitive to oxygen. We would also know that we should start more gently.
We should get them more frequent exposures at lower pressures, allowing the body to start to heal. Reducing the inflammation, reducing the oxidative stress, up-regulating their bodies antioxidant system, and ultimately just preparing their body so that if we even need to get to 2.0 atmospheres or more, that body is prepared to handle it.
Not just jumping right into the 2+ atmospheres that the research paper we read said we were supposed to do.