HYPERBARIC MEDICINE. Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Vol. I. Principles of Hyperbaric Therapy

This treatise is designed to provide professionals in medicine, physiotherapy, nursing, sports sciences, and other health-related fields with a rigorous and up-to-date overview of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). It presents, in a precise and comprehensive manner, its physiological, pharmacological, and operational foundations, together with its clinical indications and the most recent scientific evidence, from a practical perspective. The chapters offer a comprehensive panorama that spans from the basic principles of hyperbaric therapy to clinical protocols, combinations with other treatment modalities, and the criteria for the appropriate use of HBOT in diverse healthcare settings—medical, sports, rehabilitative, regenerative, and preventive. Both established and widely accepted indications—such as delayed radiation injury, complex wounds, sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and avascular bone necrosis, among others—as well as emerging applications in oncology, neurodegeneration, cellular aging, neuropathic pain, fertility, sports injuries, bone marrow edema, myalgic encephalomyelitis, fibromyalgia, or long COVID are analyzed. In addition, the book serves as a practical guide to essential aspects of establishing and operating a clinical hyperbaric medicine unit: types of chambers, oxygen supply sources, operating protocols, informed consent, current regulations, applicable legislation, and healthcare requirements. A reference resource, intended to facilitate both the scientific and technical understanding and the operational, clinical, and organizational application of this therapeutic tool in full expansion. The treatise as a whole is composed of three volumes: The first volume addresses the fundamentals and principles of HBOT and its practical application. The second volume focuses on the classical indications. The third explores the new applications of hyperbaric therapy. This first volume consists of ten chapters: Historical evolution, definition, and indications of hyperbaric medicine General principles of hyperbaric therapy Hyperbaric chambers: models and safety considerations Oxygen Management of oxygen and carbon dioxide toxicity in hyperbaric medicine Pharmacological effects of hyperbaric medicine Underwater medicine Combined use of hyperbaric medicine with other therapies Flexible hyperbaric chambers of medium or low pressure Legal aspects in hyperbaric medicine The author, José María Moral Pascual, MD, is a medical specialist in Hyperbaric Medicine who combines scientific rigor with years of clinical experience to make complex concepts clear and accessible. He holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM, 25th graduating class). He is a specialist in Family and Community Medicine, trained through the M.I.R. system (Medical Residency Program), and holds several academic credentials, including a Diploma from the Comprehensive Pain Management Master Program (University of Navarra, UNAV), an Expert Certificate in Diabetes (University of Alcalá, UAH), and a Diploma in Hyperbaric and Underwater Medicine (Catholic University of Valencia, UCV). He currently practices in Madrid as a family physician, clinical tutor of resident doctors, and teaching collaborator with the Faculty of Medicine at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Since 2015, he has also served as Director of a Hyperbaric Medicine Unit in Madrid, where he has supervised more than 10,000 hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions.