All you need is the air that you breathe

“Work as hard as you play and play as hard as you work.”

Is what my doctor told me when I was feeling very overwhelmed at a low point during the second year of my degree and a visit to my doctor. She told me I needed to ‘play’ to get my head back in order to be able to focus clearly on the very difficult course content. It still works very true in aspects of my life today. Your mind and body face much stress from mental, physical and environmental factors so it needs its own time to recover and ‘play’.

Recently I met a very fascinating man called Tony Courtney Brown who has lived a very interesting life. Our ideologies on natural health and healing were very much aligned. Tony and his lovely wife Anoma have now introduced their beautiful new clinic, Total Body Health, in Wimbledon. Lucky for us.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is one of the treatments he offers. Simply it is exposing your breathing and your whole body to pressurised oxygen in a controlled and very safe chamber. Just as mountain climbers feel sick from suffocation from lack of oxygen and low air pressure at high altitudes, by exposure to an increased air pressure you have the opposite effect of improved health and rejuvenation. The resulting effects of the sessions in the chamber are elevated energy levels and enhanced tissue function, reduced inflammation, pain reduction and improved immune system. Over time you can expect renewed tissue, vessels, and blood circulation. The treatments are non-invasive, pain free and easy to fit into a busy schedule.

Overworking your body and mind need some time to refresh

The benefits extend to long standing health conditions with much published work on slowing down, stopping and even reversing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. More recent worldwide health concerns are now manifesting itself with long term aftereffects. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is proving itself to positively benefit those who now have the long-term fallout from contracting certain illnesses over the last few years. A recent article in the Times newspaper reported that around 2 million people are suffering long term health conditions from the recent pandemic. HBOT can help with recovery in those affected.

Jonny May using his Henshaw Hyperbaric Chamber

HBOT is very effective in accelerating the recovery and healing time following intensive sports, exercise and injury. Even older injuries now become less painful and movement improved. So much so that Jonny May, the England international Rugby star, is using HBOT to speed up the healing process of his injured knee and faster recovery time following intensive games.

“With the physical and mental demands of training and playing, a hyperbaric environment allows me to recover far more efficiently, while being able to relax. Spending time in my Henshaw Sport Chamber is an integral part of my daily routine. I’m able to recover faster by getting more oxygen around my body – recovery is performance.” – Jonny May.

Meet Manuela Marconetto, a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, who also uses the Henshaw hypobaric oxygen therapy chamber to recover quickly from tournaments and intense exercise at Total Body Health.

MMA pro-fighter Manuela Marconetto entering the Hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Total Body Health

There is no reason why a session in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber post intensive gym or personal trainer sessions to reduce the time for muscle recovery. No more achy muscles after a good workout.

It’s not only of interest with sports personalities but recently The Metro newspaper reported that in an episode of The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner has her own HBOT in her wellness room. Kendall claims to love her chamber and regularly spends over an hour in it with her laptop answering emails and watching Netflix whilst her body recouperates and regenerates.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy isn’t a new concept and has been used for many years to treat decompression illness experienced by scuba divers, carbon monoxide poisoning, tissue infections and problematic complex wounds within the NHS.