You’ve probably heard the phrase “too much of a good thing.” This saying fits perfectly when we talk about inflammation. Though it’s often seen as something to get rid of, inflammation is an important part of your body’s natural healing and defense mechanisms.

A little inflammation is actually good, but too much often becomes a problem. The challenge is to know when it’s part of healing and when it might be a sign of trouble. Think of inflammation like your house’s smoke detector. Its job isn’t the problem—it’s a warning that something is wrong. Instead of turning off the detector, you’d find out the source of the smoke. Similarly, inflammation is your body’s signal that something bigger needs your attention.

When inflammation turns chronic, it becomes problematic. Chronic inflammation has been linked to various health issues, including heart disease, arthritis, obesity, and autoimmune diseases. In this article, let’s find out how Exercise with Oxygen Therapy (EWOT) can help you keep inflammation in check.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines Inflammation as “a normal part of the body’s response to injury or infection and it occurs when the body releases chemicals that trigger an immune response to heal damaged tissue.” This often leads to symptoms like redness, swelling, pain, and limited movement. While inflammation is necessary for issues such as a splinter, pneumonia, or poison ivy rash, it’s only part of the story—there’s more to inflammation than this basic response.

Acute inflammation is your body’s response to sudden injury or infection. For instance, when you injure yourself, your immune system will send its inflammatory cells and cytokines to the site of injury. These cells initiate an inflammatory response and start healing the damaged tissue. Acute inflammation usually lasts for a few hours to a few weeks and typically subsides once the trigger, such as an injury or infection, is brought under control.

Here are the symptoms and causes of acute inflammation:

Here, the story is quite different. When inflammation develops without an apparent cause and lingers for a long period (months or years), your immune system works overtime to continuously send the inflammatory cells and cytokines. This condition is known as chronic inflammation. Your body thinks it’s under consistent threat, so your immune system keeps fighting against it. When this happens, these inflammatory cells attack the healthy tissues and organs.

 Let’s take the example of rheumatoid arthritis, where your immune system attacks joint tissues. This causes inflammation to flare up and subside but can lead to significant damage to the joints over time. Similarly, if you have excess belly fat, the immune system might see these fat cells as a threat and target them. The longer you remain overweight, the longer your body stays in a state of inflammation. Simply put, chronic inflammation is when your body’s defense mechanisms, designed to keep you safe, end up causing you harm.

According to research, chronic inflammation has been linked to many conditions, such as:

Here are the causes and symptoms of chronic inflammation:

By now, you may have understood the double-edged nature of inflammation: acute inflammation being your friend and chronic inflammation being your foe.

Did you know that hypoxia and inflammation are closely interconnected? Hypoxia, low oxygen levels in tissues, often triggers inflammation as the cells struggle to function under low-oxygen conditions. For example, in ischemia—a condition characterized by restricted blood flow and oxygen in a part of the body—inflammatory responses are triggered in the body, which can lead to organ dysfunction.

On the other hand, inflammatory diseases are often characterized by tissue hypoxia. Let’s take the example of inflammatory bowel disease. IBD, a condition that causes inflammation in your gastrointestinal tract, often results in hypoxia. This is due to increased demand for oxygen from immune cells and vascular damage, which decreases oxygen concentration in the inflamed mucosa.

Now that you understand hypoxia can trigger inflammation, it stands to reason that hyperoxia (higher oxygen levels) could be a helpful tool when dealing with chronic inflammation.

Wondering how? Read on to find out.

Exercise with Oxygen Therapy (EWOT) involves inhaling higher concentrations of oxygen while exercising. When you engage in EWOT, your body becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen to your cells, tissues, and organs. This improved oxygen delivery promotes faster recovery, reduces oxidative stress, and minimizes inflammatory responses.

Here’s how EWOT combats inflammation:

Improved blood circulation is one of the immediate benefits of EWOT. In fifteen minutes of EWOT, your heart pumps the plasma-dissolved oxygen into the tiny pulmonary capillaries and, from there, to the cells, arriving at the inflamed regions with poor blood flow. Thus, EWOT floods your body’s cells with plenty of oxygen, essential nutrients, and anti-inflammatory agents to reduce inflammation.

Did you know EWOT supports detoxification processes? While the major purpose of EWOT is not detoxification per se, the way it impacts cellular function and oxygen delivery may contribute to your body’s overall detoxification mechanisms.

Now you may ask, “How does EWOT aid detoxification?” The answer is simple: EWOT improves cellular metabolism. Increased oxygen availability during the EWOT session supports cellular energy production and metabolism. As your cells function optimally, they will be better equipped to eliminate waste products and toxins created during the metabolic processes.

Oxidative stress, the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body, can trigger inflammation. Your immune system gets activated by injuries or infections. This will make macrophages (immune cells that engulf and digest pathogens) release free radicals as they fight off harmful germs. These free radicals can also harm healthy cells, resulting in inflammation.

Normally, inflammation subsides once the immune system clears the infection or repairs the damaged tissue. However, oxidative stress can also trigger inflammatory responses, which further generate more free radicals. This creates a vicious oxidative stress–inflammation cycle.

Chronic inflammation caused due to oxidative stress can contribute to diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.

Chronic inflammation makes your immune system overactive. What happens when your immune system is overactive? Your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues, resulting in autoimmune conditions. When you incorporate EWOT into your fitness routine, the improved oxygenation helps regulate your immune responses, bringing them back to balance.

As EWOT superoxygenates your cells, the immune cells such as macrophages and natural killer cells, function more effectively. This makes your body better equipped to fight off infections and repair damaged tissues. When your immune system function improves, it helps your body reduce the excessive inflammatory responses, giving relief to those suffering from autoimmune conditions.

Have you or someone you love suffered from arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease? If so, Exercising with Oxygen can help. Did you know that in the United States, 1 in 4 adults has some form of arthritis?

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, occurs when the cartilage in your bones gets damaged due to wear and tear, causing the bones to rub against each other. You will feel stiffness, pain, and swelling in the affected joint. On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition in which your body mistakenly attacks the healthy joints, causing pain, inflammation, and swelling in the affected joints.

You may be wondering how oxygen and arthritis are connected. Let me explain. In arthritic joints, hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the blood) occurs due to increased demand for oxygen from metabolic activity and restricted blood flow caused by higher pressure within the joint. Research has shown that inhaling higher concentrations of oxygen (hyperoxia) has been effective in managing symptoms of arthritis by reducing inflammation and joint pain, improving blood flow, and promoting healing in affected joints. 

EWOT, with its powerful combination of exercise and oxygen, helps arthritic patients by improving their joint mobility and slowing the progression of arthritis over time.

If you’re an athlete, you’ll be likely to experience exercise-induced inflammation, a natural recovery process after your intense training. While this acute inflammation helps with recovery and muscle repair, too much inflammation could put you in a state of prolonged soreness and can negatively impact your athletic performance. EWOT helps athletes accelerate their muscle recovery by superoxygenating their body and reducing exercise-induced inflammation.

EWOT also reduces lactic acid buildup, which helps them train harder and more consistently while minimizing the risk of chronic inflammation.

The process of setting up an EWOT system is simple: all you need to have is an EWOT System and a stationary exercise machine (a treadmill or elliptical machine). Whether you’re dealing with chronic inflammation or joint pain or simply need to improve recovery post-exercise, EWOT has benefits to offer everyone.

Always start with short, 10-minute sessions, and gradually increase the duration as your body adapts. Always remember consistency is key, and over time, you’ll start noticing significant improvements in your inflammation levels, energy, and overall well-being.

We recommend you consult your healthcare provider before starting any exercise program, including EWOT, if you have arthritis or other inflammatory conditions, or any other pre-existing health issues.