The role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in sports medicine

During the past decade, we have seen a growing number of individuals partic ipating in sport and recreational activities. All indications show an incre ase in sport participation at every age level. However, the number of sport and recreational injuries as a result of this increase has also risen. Unf ortunately, a primary cost related to injury recovery is the time lost from participating in and resuming normal functional activity. This has compell ed health care professionals to seek more efficient and effective therapeut ic interventions in treating such injuries. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy may serve to provide a means of therapy to facilitate a speedier resumptio n to pre-injury activity levels as well as improve the short and long term prognosis of the injury. Although a growing interest in sports medicine is becoming evident in the l iterature, the use of HBO as an intervention in this field has received a g reat deal of cynicism. To date, numerous professional athletic teams, inclu ding hockey (NHL), football (NFL), basketball (NBA) and soccer (MLS), utili se and rely on the use of HBO as adjuvant therapy for numerous sports-relat ed injuries acquired from playing competitive sports. However, to date, ver y little has been published on the application benefits of hyperbaric thera py and sports injuries. The majority of clinical studies examining the effi cacy of HBO in treating soft tissue injuries have been limited in their sam ple size and study design. Further research needs to be conducted suggestin g and validating the significant effects of this treatment modality and fur ther grounding its importance in sports medicine.