“Are You Searching for a Natural Solution to Boost Your Energy, Sleep Better, Improve Focus and Enhance Healing?”

The Short Answer

The air you are breathing right now is about 21 percent oxygen. Inside the chamber you breathe close to pure oxygen while the pressure around you is raised slightly above normal.

The pressure is the part that matters. At normal pressure your red blood cells are already close to full, so simply breathing more oxygen does not change much. Add pressure and oxygen starts dissolving into the fluid part of your blood — the plasma. Plasma goes where red cells sometimes struggle to reach: swollen tissue, tissue with poor circulation, tissue that has been quietly short of oxygen for months.

That is the whole mechanism. More oxygen, carried a different way, reaching places that were not getting enough of it.

Training and recovery load

Runners, lifters and weekend athletes in their forties and fifties who are not bouncing back between sessions the way they did.

Staying active as you age

Cells slow down with age. People in their fifties and sixties use the chamber to keep doing the things they do not want to give up.

What Hyperbaric Oxygen Will Not Do

Our chambers run at 1.3 and 1.4 ATA. That is mild hyperbaric pressure, and it is the right pressure for what we use it for: recovery, energy, sleep, mental clarity, inflammation, and supporting tissue that is trying to heal.

It is not the pressure used for the conditions insurance covers. Those protocols run at 2.0 ATA and deeper in hard clinical chambers, and ours do not reach it. If you have been told you need hyperbaric oxygen for one of those conditions, you need a hospital-based chamber rather than us, and we will tell you that on the phone instead of booking you in.

Using mild pressure for the goals above is an area where the research is still developing, and we are careful about how we describe it for exactly that reason. No guarantees — we do not give them. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy here is used to support recovery and general wellness. It is not a substitute for medical care and it is not appropriate for every patient.

We are cash-pay, and the pressure limitation above is the honest reason why.

3. Settling in

A session runs 60 to 90 minutes at pressure — 1.3 ATA at Chula Vista, 1.4 ATA at Kearny Mesa. Where you land in that range depends on what we are working on. Once you are there you are breathing oxygen and there is nothing to do. People read, nap, answer email — you can see one of our clients working on a laptop in the chamber on our homepage.

Coming back down and heading home

We bring the pressure back down slowly, and your ears equalise the same way in reverse. Most people walk out and get on with their day; some notice they sleep unusually well that night. Drink water afterwards, and tell us what you noticed — it shapes how we run your next one.

Dr. Chris Garcia, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS

I was thirteen when I helped my grandmother through her own recovery. That is where this career started, and it is still the thing I think about when someone walks in frustrated that their body is not healing the way it used to.

I founded Sports Performance Physical Therapy in Chula Vista in 2014. Today we care for people across San Diego County from two locations. I am a board-certified Sports Clinical Specialist, a credential held by a small fraction of physical therapists nationwide. I have worked as a physical therapist for the United States Olympic Committee, in rehab roles around NFL Combine training, and as a private therapist for professional tennis players in Europe.

Most of the people we see are in their forties, fifties and sixties. They are parents who want to keep up with their kids, stay on the course, and stay off the operating table. They have usually been told the same three things: rest it, take something for it, or have it operated on.

There is a fourth option, and it is what this practice was built for.

“I had problems with my back for a very long time from improper workout forms, bad sleeping positions, and not stretching. After a few sessions, I feel a lot better… I feel 100% again.”

Calvin

Google review, Chula Vista

FIND US

Sports Performance — Kearny Mesa

8911 Complex Drive, Suite F
San Diego, CA 92123

Call or text: (619) 397-1391
Email: TeamSP@SportsPerformancePT.com

Hours

Monday–Thursday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Friday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Accessible chamber, 1.4 ATA. Large door for a wheelchair or seat. Sessions run 30–90 minutes depending on the goal.
Central San Diego. Serving Kearny Mesa, Clairemont, Mission Valley, Linda Vista, Serra Mesa and Tierrasanta.

How It Works

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in plain English?

You sit in a sealed chamber, the pressure is raised, and you breathe oxygen. Ordinary air is about 21% oxygen; in the chamber you are breathing close to pure oxygen. The pressure drives that oxygen into the liquid part of your blood, so your bloodstream carries several times more of it than usual.

Why does the pressure matter?

Because gas dissolves into liquid better under pressure — the same physics as scuba diving. Without the pressure you are just breathing oxygen. With it, the plasma that surrounds your brain and spinal cord and reaches every organ carries far more oxygen than it normally would.

What kind of chambers do you have?

Two soft-shell chambers, both from the same manufacturer, running at slightly different pressures. The sit-up chamber at Chula Vista runs at 1.3 ATA; the Kearny Mesa chamber runs at 1.4 ATA and is the accessible one, with a large door you can walk into or transfer into from a wheelchair or a seat. Both are inflatable over an internal frame with a triple-zip seal, oxygen is delivered through a mask or nasal cannula, and both are staffed — you are never in there on your own.

How long is a session?

Between 60 and 90 minutes at pressure. Where you land in that range depends on what we are working on. Add a few minutes either side while the pressure comes up and back down.

How many sessions will I need?

A course usually runs 20 to 40 sessions, five or six days a week, because the changes build up through consecutive days rather than occasional visits. Something acute can need as few as three to twenty; something chronic can run longer. Improvement is rarely linear — feeling tired early on is common, and steady change often shows up around the fifteenth to twentieth session. You will get a real number after we have talked.

Does it matter if I miss sessions?

Yes, more than people expect. Four a week is the floor, and on a longer protocol each missed session costs a little of the result. If five days a week is not realistic for a stretch, say so on the call — it changes what we recommend rather than quietly costing you the outcome.

Does it hurt?

No. The one thing you will feel is your ears as the pressure changes, like the descent of a flight. Yawning or swallowing clears it, and if it is uncomfortable we slow the rate down.

Booking, Cost And Referrals

Do I need a referral?

No. You can book a session yourself; nothing needs to come from another provider first. We will go through your history before your first session, and if we think you should see another kind of doctor first, we will say so.

Can I claim it on insurance?

We do not bill insurance for you. Some clients submit their own receipts; whether anything comes back depends entirely on your plan.

What can I do in there?

Read, nap, listen to something, answer email. One of our clients works on a laptop in the chamber — that is her on the homepage.

Is this instead of physical therapy?

No. It sits alongside what we already do — physical therapy, shockwave, EMTT. For most people the chamber is one part of a plan, not the whole plan.

Is It Right For Me?

Who should not use a chamber?

More people than you would guess. Uncontrolled heart rhythms or heart failure, COPD or emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, untreated sleep apnea, uncontrolled asthma, a history of a spontaneously collapsed lung, an uncontrolled seizure disorder, uncontrolled diabetes or blood pressure, severe claustrophobia, a fever, active smoking, chemotherapy, and recent dental or facial surgery all get screened first. We do not put pregnant clients in a chamber, and never at eight months or beyond. A controlled condition is often fine with clearance from the doctor treating it. All of this happens on the callback, before anything is booked.

Will it fix my injury?

We will not promise that, and be careful with anyone who does. What we can say is that slow-healing tissue is often short on oxygen and circulation, and this addresses that directly. Whether it moves the needle for you is what the first conversation is for.

Which location do I go to?

Whichever chamber suits you — Chula Vista for the sit-up chamber, Kearny Mesa for the modular one. Same hours, same team, same phone number at both.

How do I start?

Ask for the free callback, or call (619) 397-1391 during clinic hours: Monday to Thursday 9am to 6pm, Friday 8am to 5pm.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at our clinics is used to support recovery and general wellness. It is not a substitute for medical care and it is not appropriate for every patient.