Sport Injuries and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

23/07/2018 sbrsport

The following is a summary of a scientific paper by P Barata, M Cervaens et al., who wrote, “Hyperbaric Oxygen Effects on Sports Injuries”. I have given the address of this at the end of the article, but, having said that, scientific journal articles are complex and cumbersome to read through and so I thought I would summarize some of the most interesting sections of the report for those who are interested in the subject.

They begin the study with the following, “In the last decade, competitive sports have taken on a whole new meaning, where intensity has increased together with the incidence of injuries to athletes. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop better and faster treatments that allow the injured athlete to return to competition faster than with the normal course of rehabilitation, with a low risk of re-injury”.

So, just what do we mean by mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy? We have a mild hyperbaric chamber that delivers 90% pure oxygen into a pressured chamber. The chamber goes up to 1.4 ATM pressure. Two things take place:

Your hemoglobin blood cells become fully populated with oxygen molecules. (Four molecules can bind to each blood cell).
After this, oxygen begins to dissolve into the actual plasma, thereby increasing oxygen tissue tensions 10-fold (1000%).

So, with this in mind, here are some of the benefits that are listed in the study:

There is a short-term vasoconstriction effect and almost immediate enhanced oxygen delivery.
Reduction of oedema or swelling.
Phagocytosis activation – Phagocytes are cells that engulf and ingest bacteria or other foreign bodies. This, in short, means that your immune system is built up. This was found to increase the effectiveness of antibiotics and the growth of a number of anaerobic and aerobic organisms was inhibited at wound sites.
Anti-inflammatory effect. Inflammation levels are brought down. This is important for people suffering from various autoimmune diseases. (Asthmatics also stand to benefit from reductions in inflammation).
Neovascularization begins to take place, which is the formation of new blood vessels that enhance the body’s ability to circulate blood in areas affected by poor perfusion or ischemia.
Osteogenesis – the formation of bone. Not only this, but there is a stimulation of collagen by fibroblast cells. This has major benefits for people who have injured tissues such as muscle, bone, and tendons. You can read more about that here – Muscle, Tendon, Ligament and Bone Studies. Recovery from muscle strains, especially at the myotendinous junction. This is the area where a muscle connects with the tendon. The tendon then goes on to transmit a pulling force to the part of the bone that it is attached to, and this area is subjected to high tensile forces. Injuries such as high hamstring tendinopathies and Achilles tendon injuries are often difficult to treat and should recover more quickly with mild hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
In a study done by Oriani (Oriani et al. 1982), the author concluded that professional soccer players in Scotland treated by hyperbaric oxygen therapy enjoyed a 55% reduction in lost days due to injury. (This is a good thing because we all know how soccer players get injured).