Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a widely used treatment for many elite athletes for recovery from muscle injuries. This study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at this relationship by taking a group of rats and inducing injury to the leg muscles. They then followed up with a program of 10 hyperbaric oxygen sessions over a 2-week period. The results demonstrated an acceleration in healing and functional recovery, with greater expression of IGF-1 and other repair factors noted at days 3 to 5 <view study> Read Less

For decades now, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been an off-label use for traumatic brain injuries (TBI's). More and more, private clinics are opening up to provide this therapy for those suffering from TBI’s (both acute and chronic victims) and documenting success. Now, a recent article has just been published showing two football players that were successfully treated for TBI. Both were documented with their improvements by functional brain imaging concomitantly with neurological examinations. Of important note, one player was suffering from symptoms of TBI for more than 10 years and still showed benefits from HBOT. With more professional athletes being diagnosed with concussions and putting their career at risk, the implications for timely hyperbaric therapy are enormous <view study> Read Less

“Mild hyperbaric oxygen with normal air has emerged recently as an accepted complementary treatment for muscle injury in sport medicine. Furthermore, this method is gaining popularity as a home remedy to further improve recovery from muscle injury.” This study looked at a very low pressure of only 1.25 ATA for muscle regeneration and the results of this study cause them to conclude that this dosage was an appropriate support therapy for severe muscle injury <view study> Read Less

"Purpose: This study investigated hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) to determine their combined effects on fibroblasts from rabbit medial collateral ligament (MCL). Conclusion: HBO2 or HBO2 plus PDGF-bb treatment decreases the Type III collagen/Type I collagen content, which could result in mechanically stronger collagen fibrils. We propose HBO2 therapy as a potentially effective treatment for MCL healing."<view study> Read Less

“The best experience of HBO use as a recovery method from muscular fatigue occurred during the Nagano Winter Olympics with seven participating athletes. After physical activity, the athletes received HBO treatment for 30–40 minutes at 1.3 ATA, with a maximum of six times per athlete and an average of two times per athlete. An athlete who experienced tension and sharp pain of the abdominal muscles was able to play a game after HBO treatment with almost no pain. Another player who was experiencing anterior knee pain was treated within 2 days of injury and was able to perform afterwards with no difficulty. These test cases show that HBO treatments demonstrate high performance without adverse effects such as muscular pain and nerve paralysis. Players were also able to benefit from the conditioning effects of HBO treatment” <view study> Read Less