Hyperbaric Oxygenation

This study examines whether exposition to hyperbaric oxygen after a road-race simulation can help competitive cyclists recover and perform better the following day. Hyperbaric oxygen, which involves breathing oxygen inside a pressurized chamber, is used as a recovery method in elite and professional sport. Its effectiveness, however, remains controversial: despite this widespread use, there is a lack of solid scientific evidence that a single HBO session after strenuous endurance exercise actually improves recovery, or that clarifies how the amount of oxygen exposure influences any benefit. The study includes healthy male road cyclists between 18 and 40 years of age who compete at the national level in Belgium. After completing a fatiguing cycling session, each participant is randomly assigned to one of four groups receiving different levels of oxygen exposure during recovery. Two groups breathe oxygen under increased pressure inside a chamber at either 2.5 or 1.4 atmospheres absolute. A third group breathes oxygen at normal pressure. The fourth group receives a sham condition that reproduces the treatment setting without active oxygen exposure. The study is double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers assessing the outcomes know which condition each participant receives. The main goal is to determine whether a single session of post-exercise HBO improves next-day endurance performance, and whether higher oxygen exposure produces greater effects. The researchers also collect blood samples and physiological measurements to better understand how the body recovers.

This retrospective observational study evaluates physiological and cognitive changes following a series of 60 hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) sessions in healthy individuals. Participants underwent treatment five days per week, each session included 90 minutes exposure to 100% oxygen at 2ATA with a five-minute air break every 20 minutes. Pre- and post-treatment data include cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and standardized cognitive assessments. The study aims to characterize associations between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive performance following repeated HBOT exposure in a real-world clinical cohort

A fracture-related infection (FRI) is a difficult to treat condition in which a bone fracture and surrounding tissues are infected. This results in impaired healing and ongoing symptoms such as pain, wound leakage and swelling, which affects patients' functioning and quality of life. Despite adequate treatment in the form of extensive surgical debridement and long-term antibiotics, it is hard to obtain infection eradication. This pilot, non-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) will assess the feasibility of a subsequent, larger RCT, in which hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) will be investigated as potential treatment modality for FRI in adjunction to standard care. HBOT induces an increased oxygen tension in the body and thereby inhibits inflammation and the growth of several bacteria. Furthermore, it stimulates bone and blood vessel formation. Therefore, HBOT might be of added value in the treatment of FRI. Data on process-related outcomes, patient-reported outcome measures, and clinical parameters are obtained during this pilot study to determine whether a subsequent study investigating the efficacy of HBOT is viable.