“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

"This review explains the rationale for the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and reports on the initial research in the area of hyperbaric oxygen in sports-induced injury. The initial human and animal model studies have shown promising, and in some instances significant, acceleration of healing. The potential benefits for sports injuries appear to be a blunting of initial injury, possibly by controlling the neutrophil adhesion and release of oxygen free radicals as well as an enhancement of healing processes requiring oxygen-like collagen formation phagocytosis". <view study> Read Less

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy exerts powerful beneficial effects on the human body and is typically prescribed at higher pressures in many hospitals and wound care centers. Lower pressure protocols have advanced this procedure to many other conditions, particularly chronic conditions, reporting positive outcomes. However, there are a small number of patients who cannot even tolerate these lower pressures and are therefore looking at very low pressures. The question occurs, “Are there benefits to very low hyperbaric pressures?” This study may help them feel a little more comfortable, as they show that even slight pressures were able to cause positive changes in blood vessels. This is consistent with many other research publications that have demonstrated giving slight pressure can have positive benefits <view study> Read Less