Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy - Latest Research

In a 4-week trial, 24 healthy men did sprint interval training (SIT); half received one low-dose hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) session immediately after each workout, the others did SIT alone. Both groups improved aerobic fitness and lost fat, but the SIT+HBO group gained significantly more anaerobic power—higher peak and mean sprint power relative to body weight. There were no clear added benefits for aerobic capacity, sleep quality, or heart-rate recovery. The study is small, so bigger controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and figure out how HBO adds to sprint training <view study>

Researchers gave healthy rats daily hyperbaric oxygen (100% O2 at 2.4 ATA for 1 hour) for seven days and then measured electrical signals in the hippocampus, a brain area important for learning and memory. Treated rats showed much stronger long-term potentiation (LTP)—a lasting increase in the strength of synaptic connections—than controls, meaning their brain circuits were more able to strengthen after stimulation. Molecular tests showed higher levels of BDNF (a protein that supports neurons) and activated CREB1 (a molecule that helps turn on memory-related genes), suggesting the oxygen treatment boosted plasticity by turning on this growth-and-memory pathway. The study suggests hyperbaric oxygen can enhance memory-related brain function even in healthy brains <view study>

This review explains how hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)—breathing high-pressure oxygen—and exosomes—tiny cell-made vesicles carrying proteins and RNA—can work together to speed and improve tissue healing. HBOT raises oxygen levels to reduce hypoxia, promote blood vessel growth, and lower inflammation, while exosomes regulate immune responses, stimulate cell growth, deliver pro-repair signals (like microRNAs), and reduce scarring. HBOT can increase exosome release and change their content (e.g., raising MALAT1) through a “hyperoxia–hypoxia paradox,” and exosomes can protect tissues from HBOT-related oxygen injury. Animal and lab studies show combining the two gives stronger anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, angiogenic, and neuroprotective effects than either alone, helping wounds, nerve injuries, spinal cord and sciatic nerve damage, and ischemic tissue <view study>

A 45-year-old man with right-sided weakness, poor balance, and cognitive problems 15 months after a left-sided hemorrhagic stroke received 83 hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions (2.0 ATA, 90 minutes) over 16 weeks. After treatment he improved from wheelchair dependence to walking with a quadruped cane, showed stronger muscles, less spasticity, better balance, and gains in attention, verbal memory, and processing speed. Brain imaging matched these gains: diffusion tensor imaging showed increased white-matter integrity in key tracts, and SPECT showed ~16% increased blood flow in the right motor cortex and right frontal lobe. The case suggests HBOT can boost neuroplasticity and blood flow in nondead brain tissue even long after a stroke, and advanced imaging can track these changes <view study>

Researchers reviewed 13 studies (including both animal and human research) with a total of 693 subjects to see whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) helps tendon and ligament injuries heal. Overall, studies found that HBOT—alone or combined with treatments like platelet-rich plasma or injections—helped tissue heal faster and stronger, showing more organized collagen (the main building block of tendons and ligaments), better repair on a microscopic level, and quicker return of function. It also appeared to lower the chance that grafts fail after ACL surgery. <view study>

Researchers reviewed 26 adults who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for persistent cognitive problems from traumatic brain injuries sustained in childhood. Each person completed at least 40 sessions of 90 minutes breathing 100% oxygen at increased pressure. After treatment, participants showed significant and large improvements in global cognition, memory, executive function, attention, and processing speed, while motor skills did not improve. Benefits were seen regardless of how long ago the injury occurred (on average ~24 years) or the original injury severity, and people with mild childhood TBIs improved similarly to those with more severe injuries. Although promising, the study was retrospective, small, and lacked a control group, so the results suggest HBOT may help long-term cognitive recovery after pediatric TBI but require confirmation in larger, controlled trials <view study>

This study is particularly relevant for the elderly population, as osteoporosis is a common condition that significantly impacts their mobility and quality of life. The results suggest that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy may promote bone regeneration and improve osteogenic activity in elderly patients, especially those with normal or osteopenic bone density. If validated through further research, these findings could lead to new treatment options for preventing fractures and enhancing bone healing, thereby improving health outcomes and independence among senior citizens in today’s society. <view study>

PRP is a form of regenerative medicine that uses a patient's own blood to promote healing and can be used to treat a variety of conditions including orthopedic injuries (ie, muscle, tendon, bone, ligament, cartilage). Researchers of this study wanted to evaluate the addition of hyperbaric oxygen (HBOT) with PRP therapy to determine the outcome for fracture healing. This was an animal study that used a 2-week preconditioning HBOT protocol before standard PRP (HBOP). This 2 week HBOT protocol consisted of 10 total sessions at 3.0 ATA, administered in three, 20 minute sessions with two 5-minute air breaks (60 total minutes at pressure). Upon blood collection, researchers noted that HBOP produced significantly higher growth factors compared to PRP alone. In addition, bone repair was accelerated and repaired both quicker and stronger. Furthermore, they concluded "HBOP enhances the biological activity of PRP and accelerates bone healing in a closed femur fracture model in rats. This study highlights the regenerative potential of PRP when preconditioned with hyperbaric oxygen for use in bone fracture therapy" <view study>

Research supports the hypothesis that the combined ABA and HBOT intervention may offer additional benefits over ABA therapy alone, with verbal milestone behaviors in children with autism <view study>

Rotator cuff injures (of the shoulder) can be very difficult to treat and can cause significant limitations in the range of motion for the affected shoulder, particularly in the elderly that are at higher risk to this kind of injury. For professional athletes, an injury like this can slow down their time to 'return to play' but more importantly can limit their performance  and put them at a higher risk for re-tearing the same injured area  (as the repair tissue is not as strong, or tensile, as the original tissue before). Since hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has both  been shown to both speed upandincrease the strength (tensile)of  the healing processfor these kinds of injuries, researches in this study wanted to further explore (and document) these benefits,  particularly in relation to the  tendon-bone interface healing. Even thought this study was performed on animals (Rabbit study), it wasonly a 5 day study at 2.0 ATA (120 minutes each session)."The results indicate that hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly enhances vascularization at the interface between the shoulder cuff and tendon-bone, promotes collagen fiber regeneration in the tendon, improves the tensile strength of the tendon-bone complex, and does not have a significant effect on biomechanical stability." This study is consistent with all research studies showing "QUICKER and STRONGER" tissue repair from the simple addition of HBOT <view study>

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) provides crucial support for helping to combat accelerating aging along with chronic degenerative condition. This simple and safe procedure provides a surplus of oxygen and cellular energy to help stimulate and enhance the body's reparative and regenerative capacities. "HBOT affects physiological processes at the genetic level by altering gene expression, delaying cell senescence, and assisting in telomere length enhancement. The positive results in a variety of indications, ranging from tissue regeneration to better cognitive function, indicate that it has enormous potential in regenerative and anti-aging therapy." and  here is a quick summary of the results from HBOT:

• HBOT showed a marked improvement in cognitive functions and neuronal health which usually declines with aging
• HBOT affects the epigenetic regulation of many critical genes results in physiological consequences in the form of anti-inflammatory effect, anti-apoptotic and regenerative functions
• The extra oxygen supply is utilized in the process of healing, tissue repair, rebuilding and regeneration.
• The effect is especially beneficial for older individuals as the overall oxygen carrying capacity and regenerative capacity diminishes with age and HBOT helps to compensate for this apparent lack of oxygen in vital processes of healing and regeneration
• <view study>

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is very common, particular in professional athletes. This canbe considered a major surgery wherethe 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>

Most patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are treated with commonly prescribed medications like methotrexate , leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine, and sulfasalazine, (DMRD's). These medications have been used to help toslow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis and save the joints and other tissues from permanent damage.Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has also been experimentally  demonstrated to similarly help RA patients reduce disease progression and provide beneficial outcomes. Researchers in this study showed that adding HBOT to standard DRMD medications for RA patients were able to:

1. Reduce disease activity
2. Improve histopathological outcomes
3. Be a far more cost-effective and lower-risk treatment option

"Overall, these findings highlight the potential benefits of integrating DMARD and HBOT in the management of RA" <view study>

The hallmark of Crohn's disease (CD) is systemic inflammation, along with intestinal inflammation that extends through all layers of the gut wall.Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBOT) has been shown to cause a significant reduction in the inflammatory markers in CD while also showing clinical improvements in these patients.Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota plays a predominant role in in CD and is associated with the progression of CD. Since HBOT has been shown to regulate gut microbiota, this study was aimed to observe the effects in CD. Their findings demonstrated that HBOT was able to mitigate the altered composition of gut microbiota and improve the reduced microbial diversity found in CD.  By regulating the gut micorbiota, HBOT was able to help ameliorate intestinal inflammation along with systemic inflammation.<view study>  

The Researchers of this study previously documented that Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy (HBOT) was able to help provide "significant improvements in cognitive, psychiatric, fatigue, sleep, and pain symptoms" for those individuals suffering from Long COVID syndrome (LCS) In this follow up study, researchers wanted to determine if the reported benefits were long-lasting, so they required a full 40 hour couses of HBOT along with a one-year minimum follow up evaluation for all participants. The follow up results confirmed that alll the clinical improvements gained by HBOT were persistent even 1 year after the last HBOT session"<view study>

This study included a group of fibromyalgia-diagnosed w0men taking a full course of 40 hyperbaric oxygen sessions at 1.45 ATA (90 minutes per session, 5 days per week, for a total of 8 weeks). Follow up results showed significant improvements in pain threshold <view study>

A 61-year-old right-handed male stoke patient was suffering from hemiparesis and physical weakness in the right upper limb for 2 years. He then underwent a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for 60 daily sessions at 2.0 ATA. Each session was 90 minutes and included two 5-minute air breaks. Following this simple 3 month course of HBOT, both clinical and objective hand motor improvements were observed and documented though functional brain imaging scans comparing both pre and post HBOT. From the fMRI data collected, researchers of this study were able to conclude that “HBOT induces brain plasticity and functional improvement in chronic post-stroke patients” <view study>

An estimated 15.1% of individuals suffer from Long Covid Syndrome (LCS) 3 months following severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, with symptoms continuing past 12 months. LCS symptoms commonly include persistent fatigue, mood swings, body pain, cognitive impairment, and ongoing respiratory problems. Other persistent symptoms can include headaches, mental disorders, gut issues, insomnia, hair loss, and smell/taste dysfunction. Treatment options are limited to symptomatic measures, and no specific medication has been established. Previous studies have shown that just 10 sessions of HBOT at 2.4 ATA caused a statistically significant improvement of fatigue, global cognition, executive function, attention, information processing and verbal function. In this study, 18 patients (aged 18-90) were given a short course of 10 hyperbaric sessions at 2.2 ATA and were followed up 3 months later for evaluation of LCS. The results were very promising and documented significant improvements in energy levels, physical functioning, emotional well being, social functioning and improvement in limitation of activities <view study>

This pilot study followed 9 patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis who each received 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments over six to 10 weeks. Follow up MRI scans at both 3 months and at 6 months showed beneficial response to this procedure. These findings support an earlier pilot study that documented improvement in "disease activity and joint pain as determined by multiple, validated clinical measures".  The findings of this study suggest that "hyperbaric oxygen therapy  may be useful as an adjunctive or alternative treatment to disease-modifying drugs for rheumatoid arthritis" <view study>

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>