The reason chronic pain and degeneration only occur in joints and ligaments instead of other tissues, and why older people don’t heal as reliably as younger people do, has to do with decreased oxygen utilization. When there is trauma, the edema and inflammation cause a further localized decrease in oxygen utilization, which serves as a foundation for chronic pain and degeneration. The chronic pain leads to a further decrease in oxygen utilization. Break that cycle with ozone therapy, which maximizes oxygen absorption, so the cells and tissues can begin to do what they usually do so well – heal themselves.