In this article, we are addressing the question ‘Can HbOT improve recovery from sports injuries?’
For professional athletes, whatever their sport, their bodies are under repeated stress from body conditioning, training regimes and competing.
I bet, like us, you have been glued to the Olympics and other sports that have been shown on TV this summer? And, because of the extensive TV coverage, we have seen athletes injured, not starting/finishing events or even not taking part at all because of injuries.
Of course, it is better to avoid injury altogether and every athlete, no matter the sport, wants to win!
However, from an athlete’s perspective, injuries are inevitable at one time or another, and they are just part of the process of putting their bodies through intensive training programmes and competition.
Therefore, their primary focus is on how they can recover from sports injuries as quickly as possible to minimise the effect of injuries on their ability to compete and will to win.
We are going to take a close look at the role of oxygen in aiding recovery and how HbOT therapy can help athletes to recover more quickly by increasing the oxygen supply to injured tissues.
Okay, here is the science bit.
Bear with us here because we have to talk a little bit about why oxygen is so important to the recovery process, before we can provide the answer to ‘Can HbOT improve recovery from sports injuries?’
Oxygen is an essential nutrient. However, unlike other nutrients, it is not introduced into the body via the eating/digestion process but breathed into our lungs.
Below, we have outlined some of the crucial functions of oxygen to aid recovery from injury:
Therefore, efficient and speedy recovery from sports injuries is reliant on oxygen to reduce inflammation, maintain the health of tissue and enable the healing process.
We have seen the essential role oxygen plays in aiding recovery from sports injuries. As HbOT enhances the delivery of oxygen, increasing the concentration of this essential nutrient in the blood, it will accelerate the healing process.
While traditional methods of recovery are still effective, for example rest, ice, compression, and elevation (R.I.C.E), athletes can take their recovery to the next level by integrating HbOT with more traditional approaches.
Because HbOT reduces swelling and inflammation through the efficient delivery of a high concentration of oxygen into the blood vessels, it helps to alleviate pain more effectively.
For athletes who may not be able to take even over the counter medications for pain because they could contain banned substances, this offers a safe and effective method of lowering pain.
The high pressure environment of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber speeds up tissue repair by boosting the production of new blood vessels and collagen – essential for the healing of connective tissues, such as ligaments and tendons.
Although inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury, it can be painful and when prolonged, hinder healing. HbOT treatments help to reduce inflammation, thus speeding up the healing process while alleviating pain.
Because the delivery of oxygen to damaged tissue is quicker and more efficient in a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, it reduces recovery time from sports injuries.
This is a major advantage for athletes with competitions fast approaching or qualifying deadlines, or those eager to get back into the ‘A’ team before their place is taken by another.
Overall, the enhanced oxygen delivery offered by HbOT treatments increases the oxygen concentration in the blood, accelerating the healing process, so sports professionals can resume their training regime more quickly.
Moreover, there are other health benefits of HbOT that assist in recovery from injury including:
There are many famous advocates of HbOT for promoting faster recovery from sports injuries, both here in the UK and overseas:
Wayne Rooney famously used HbOT in 2006, when he broke a metatarsal bone just six weeks before England’s first game, threatening his appearance in the World Cup. However, he was passed fit to play!
Following a brain injury during an endurance race, James Cracknell used HbOT therapy alongside other treatments for rehabilitation.
LeBron James, who you may have seen during the Olympic basketball coverage, has reportedly used HbOT to maintain peak physical condition and aid recovery from injury and general wear and tear.
Cristiano Ronaldo is renowned for his exceptional commitment to fitness and his recovery regime. HbOT therapy is part of his injury recovery routine.
Michael Phelps maintained high performance levels throughout his career by using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as part of his training and recovery.
Rafael Nadal used HbOT therapy to speed up the healing process following injury, reducing the time he was off the court.
When answering the question ‘’ , these high profile athletes are just a few sports professionals who choose Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a complementary therapy to aid in their recovery. Better still, these benefits involve no drugs and are non-intrusive.
They recognise the essential part oxygen plays in the recovery process and believe that breathing pure oxygen whilst in a pressurised chamber provides a more efficient and effective way of supplying tissues with this essential nutrient.
Furthermore, they have realised that when used as a supplementary therapy alongside more traditional methods, it can speed up recovery, thus reducing time away from training and competition.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy therefore has the potential to aid in quicker recovery from sports injuries through increased oxygen delivery to the affected area, thus enhancing the body’s natural healing process.
When used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan alongside more traditional methods, it can provide an effective solution to minimise time away from training and competition.
We hope that we have answered the question ‘Can HbOT improve recovery from sports injuries?’, but if you would like to find out more or discuss how Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help with your condition or injury, simply complete our contact form and a team member will get in touch.
If you feel ready to go ahead, Oxify has branches in Leeds, Manchester, Retford, York and Newcastle (Gateshead), so choose your location, and then follow the instructions on screen to book a taster session.
