Dr. offering hyperbaric oxygen treatment
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A different type of medical treatment is now available in the Spa City with the opening of The Center for HBOT.
Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, or HBOT, is a method of delivering more oxygen to the body at the cellular level.
“It infuses oxygen into your tissues,” said longtime local doctor Harry Lindman, who recently opened The Center for HBOT at 15 Maple Dell, Suite 2, in Saratoga Springs, making hyperbaric oxygen accessible to all.
According to the center, hyperbaric therapy provides the optimal environment for the body to carry out vital cell processes, thereby increasing the capacity for the body to heal itself.
This type of treatment, which has been around for decades, is typically offered in a hospital setting, but is not available at every hospital. It is most commonly used for wound care, divers with decompression sickness and a limited number of other FDA approved indications for
hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
The Center for HBOT instead offers mild hyperbaric oxygen treatment in an outpatient setting.
This is the first and only outpatient facility of its kind in the greater Capital Region.
Lindman, the owner and medical director at The Center for HBOT, chose to bring this modality to the area because he
saw a need for it. “Hyperbaric oxygen has been around for a long time and unfortunately there was no place that patients could go,” he said.
So, Lindman changed that by opening The Center for HBOT.
The center offers hyperbaric therapy that can be used to treat a wide array of medical issues including Lyme Disease, autism,
Alzheimer’s, attention deficit disorder, arthritis, Bell’s palsy, brain injuries, cancer, chronic fatigue, depression, diabetes, digestive disorders, fibromyalgia, headaches, immune dysfunctions, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, seizures, strokes and sleep disorders, as well as the types of injuries and illnesses hospi-
tals treat with hyperbaric oxygen.
“There are a lot of uses for hyperbaric medicine,” Lindman said, noting it’s amazing all that can be treated with just pure oxygen.
Another common use of hyperbaric oxygen is muscle therapy for athletes. Many NFL players as well as cyclist Lance Armstrong have been known to use the chambers.
The mild hyperbaric therapy offered at The Center for HBOT is available to patients through a new type of portable chamber that administers the treatment at slightly lower pressure levels than what the hospital machinery provides. Patients at The Center for HBOT lay down inside the capsule, equipped with a mattress and pillow, and then it is sealed, pressurized and pumped with oxygen.
“When your cells or your tissues are oxygen- rich, they’re healthy,” Lindman said. “They can fight bacteria. They can fight viruses. The body can heal itself.”
On the other hand hypoxia, or when tissues are low in oxygen, can be unhealthy. “When our tissues are low in oxygen they’re more set up for damage. They’re more apt for infection,” Lindman said.
The nice thing about the hyperbaric therapy process is that there are no unwanted side effects.
Lindman likes to say, “Why take a capsule that has side effects when you get in our capsule and heal yourself?”
For illnesses like cancer, hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be used along with other types of treatments.
Patients are normally inside the capsule for about 60 to 90 minutes per session, during which they can nap, talk on the phone, or even use their laptop.
The capsule has a window that allows them to see the doctor, and patients are given a walkie talkie to clearly communicate if needed.
The number of treatment sessions a patient needs depends on their condition, which Lindman assesses in their individual consultation.
Some patients, after undergoing so many sessions, are cured and don’t need to come back, but others may return for maintenance therapy.
Lindman has seen firsthand the positive effects of hyperbaric therapy. “It’s amazing,” he said, adding that it’s backed by scientific, physiologic data. “It’s pretty neat.”
Now with the new Center for HBOT, Lindman is glad to offer these positive outcomes to the community.
More information about The Center for HBOT is available online at www. thecenterforhbot.org or by calling 1(877) 360-HBOT (4268) or via email at thecenterforhbot@gmail.com.