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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Sports Injuries
Sports Injuries can manifest in many different ways. From muscle strains & tears to tendon and ligament damage, complete healing is important to athlete health and performance. HBOT has been shown to improve healing for sports injuries by improving circulation, reducing inflammation, improving collagen production, and may even bolster outcomes following surgical interventions.
Studies on Sports Injuries and HBOT
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Sports Musculoskeletal Injuries
NAVID MOGHADAM1, MICHINARI HIEDA2,3, LINDSAY RAMEY3, BENJAMIN D. LEVINE2,3, and RENIE GUILLIOD2,3
1Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IRAN; 2Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Dallas, TX; and 3 The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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ABSTRACT
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a well-established treatment for a variety of conditions. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the administration of 100% oxygen breathing in a pressure vessel at higher than atmospheric pressure (1 atmosphere absolute = 101 kPa). Typically, treatment is given daily for between 1 and 2 h at pressures of 2.0 to 2.8 ATA, depending on the indication. Sporting injuries are often treated over 3 to 10 sessions. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been documented to be effective and is approved in 14 medical indications by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, including, but not limited to, carbon monoxide poisoning, compromised skin grafts and flaps, crush injuries, necrotizing soft tissue infections, and nonhealing ulcers with arterial insufficiencies. Recently, HBOT for sports musculoskeletal injuries is receiving increased attention. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may allow injured athletes to recover faster than normal rehabilitation methods. Any reduction in collegiate and professional athletes’ rehabilitation period can be financially significant for top-level sports teams; however, further research is required to confirm HBOT’s benefits on sports musculoskeletal injuries. The purpose of this review to discuss the current understanding of HBOT as a treatment modality for common musculoskeletal injuries in sports medicine. Moreover, we will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of this modality, as well as relevant clinical and research applications.
Takuya Oyaizu1,2, Mitsuhiro Enomoto2,3, Naoki Yamamoto1,2, Kunikazu Tsuji4, Masaki Horie2, Takeshi Muneta5, Ichiro Sekiya 6, Atsushi Okawa1 & Kazuyoshi Yagishita2,3
Received: 25 September 2017 Accepted: 4 January 2018 Published online: 22 January 2018
​Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) promotes rapid recovery from soft tissue injuries. However, the healing mechanism is unclear. Here we assessed the effects of HBO on contused calf muscles in a rat skeletal muscle injury model. An experimental HBO chamber was developed and rats were treated with 100% oxygen, 2.5 atmospheres absolute for 2 h/day after injury. HBO reduced early lower limb volume and muscle wet weight in contused muscles, and promoted muscle isometric strength 7 days after injury. HBO suppressed the elevation of circulating macrophages in the acute phase and then accelerated macrophage invasion into the contused muscle. This environment also increased the number of proliferating and differentiating satellite cells and the amount of regenerated muscle fibers. In the early phase after injury, HBO stimulated the IL-6/STAT3 pathway in contused muscles. Our results demonstrate that HBO has a dual role in decreasing inflammation and accelerating myogenesis in muscle contusion injuries.
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Jinhee Woo 1,†, Jae-Hee Min 1,†, Yul-Hyo Lee 2 and Hee-Tae Roh 1,*
1 Department of Physical Education, College of Arts and Physical Education, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Korea; sports@dau.ac.kr (J.W.); jop9508@naver.com (J.-H.M.)
Department of Taekwondo, Youngsan University, Yangsan-si 50510, Korea; health@ysu.ac.k
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on inflammation, the oxidative/antioxidant balance, and muscle damage after acute exercise in normobaric, normoxic (NN) and hypobaric, hypoxic (HH) environments. Eighteen healthy males were selected and randomly assigned to three groups: exercise in NN conditions (NN group, n = 6), HBOT treatment after exercise in NN conditions (HNN group, n = 6), and HBOT treatment after exercise in HH conditions (HHH group, n = 6). All subjects performed treadmill running for 60 min at 75–80% maximum heart rate (HRmax) exercise intensity under each condition. The HBOT treatments consisted of breathing 100% oxygen at 2.5 atmosphere absolute (ATA) for 60 min. Blood samples were collected before exercise (BE), after exercise (AE), and after HBOT (AH) to examine inflammation (fibrinogen, interleukin-6 [IL-6], and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)), the oxidative/antioxidant balance (derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and the biological antioxidant potential (BAP)), and muscle damage (creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)). Plasma fibrinogen, serum IL-6, CK, and LDH levels were significantly increased AE compared to BE in all groups (p < 0.05). Plasma fibrinogen levels were significantly decreased AH compared to AE in all groups (p < 0.05), and the HNN group had a significantly lower AH compared to BE (p < 0.05). Serum IL-6 levels were significantly decreased AH compared to AE in the HNN and HHH groups (p < 0.05). Serum CK levels were significantly decreased AH compared to AE in the HHH group (p < 0.05). Serum LDH levels were significantly decreased AH compared to AE in the HNN and HHH groups (p < 0.05), and the NN and HNN groups had significantly higher AH serum LDH levels compared to BE (p < 0.05). These results suggest that acute exercise in both the NN and HH environments could induce temporary inflammatory responses and muscle damage, whereas HBOT treatment may be effective in alleviating exercise-induced inflammatory responses and muscle damage.