Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is very common, particular in professional athletes. This can be considered a major surgery where the torn ligament is replaced with a tissue graft. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on graft healing following ACL reconstruction. The  HBOT protocol used in this study was "2.5 ATA, 2 h daily, for 5 consecutive days, starting from the first day after surgery" This protocol showed "improved ACL graft maturation and integration, reduced tunnel widening, and enhanced the biomechanical properties of the graft." Though this was an animal study, "the results may provide important insights into the potential clinical application of HBOT as a therapeutic intervention to enhance graft healing after ACL reconstruction, paving the way for further research in this area" <view study> Read Less

COVID-19 brings along an ever-growing concern for infected patients who have recovered from the acute phase of the viral infection. These individuals are now suffering from the long-term adverse health effects as a result. These long-term complications (aka long COVID-19), have been shown to affect everyone; including the chronically-sick, the healthy, and even the professional athlete. “Long COVID-19 patients show systemic inflammation and persistent symptoms such as fatigue and malaise, profoundly affecting their quality of life” Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been shown to help the body produce a strong anti-inflammatory response that may be able to help combat Long Covid and provide symptomatic relief. This study evaluated 5 subjects, (2 patients and 3 athletes) undergoing HBOT for 30 sessions and all 5 showed attenuation of inflammatory biomarkers, particularity the 2 athletes. “From this preliminary observation, HBOT could be considered a potential treatment for long COVID-19 patients.” <view study> Read Less

Football-related spine injuries are becoming more prevalent and more serious than previously thought, particularly for kids and young adults aged 10 to 19. Here, a 25-year-old male NFL professional player sustained a catastrophic thoracic spinal cord injury (a T8 American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale grade A) while tackling. Immediate surgery needed to be performed. The surgery was successful and just 2 days later was followed by a course of 30 hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT) sessions at 2.4 ATA over a 27 day duration. In addition to HBOT, hypothermia therapy, omega 3 fatty acid therapy, and steroid therapy were also administered within this protocol. This “aggressive medical and surgical intervention with intensive rehabilitation” was able to help this player recover from a very serious condition and help him regain motor control to be able to “run and jump” with “minimal spasticity” <view study> Read Less

Post exercise recovery  plays an important role in the overall performance of athletes. This study evaluated the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (75 minutes at 1.3 ATA) following fatigue-inducing exercise on a group of training cyclists. Improvements were seen in cycling output power, along with HRV recovery. The results “suggests that HBO is an efficient strategy to improve cardiac parasympathetic reactivation and is beneficial for subsequent performance” <view study> Read Less

The application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a simple and safe one, used by many professional athletes, trainers and their physicians for quicker recovery from injuries and numerous studies support both quicker and stronger tissue recovery with HBOT. With recent advancements in hyperbaric technology and the increase in accessibility of this procedure, many athletes are utilizing and integrating the benefits of HBOT within their training regimens for the enhancement of performance. The studies on improving performance have been inconclusive; mainly due to, the complexity of the biological responses to HBOT, as well as the variations in (1) experimental designs (e.g. exercise intensity and modality, level of oxygen, number of participants), (2) muscles involved (arms and legs) and (3) training status of the participant. It should be noted that HBOT has been granted to be an approved treatment by The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and is being used to improve exercise performance in sports practice. In terms of the use of HBOT for performance enhancement, this study focused on one key variable and that being the "timing of the procedure" (ie, before exercise, during exercise, or after exercise). The systematic review and meta-analysis provided by this study demonstrated that HBOT is most effective in improving muscle endurance performance when administered during exercise (and not before). <view study> Read Less