HBOT and Athlete Recovery: The Secret to Accelerating Healing

Have you ever wondered how some of the top athletes in the world are able to recover in record time? Are you interested in finding out what technology they may be using behind the scenes and how you can have access to it yourself? In this blog, I’m going to explain how I introduced hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to a professional sports environment and how you can apply this knowledge to athletes at all levels—professional, college, youth, or even weekend warriors who take maximizing their body’s abilities seriously.

Hi, I’m Dr. Jason Han, CEO and Co-Founder of HealthFit Physical Therapy and Chiropractic and, most recently, former head of rehab for the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC).

Personal Experience with HBOT

To start, I want to share how HBOT has had a profound impact on my personal life. Back in 2021, my mother-in-law suffered a mild traumatic brain injury after a bad fall. Initially, she had dental damage, but it escalated to a brain bleed, leading to symptoms such as muscle weakness, declining coordination, poor memory, and headaches. Despite multiple trips to the ER and rounds of steroids, her progress was minimal. She became dependent on those around her for simple activities of daily living.

With little help from her medical doctors, my wife and I decided to take matters into our own hands. We reached out to our medical colleagues and were introduced to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. After using a home chamber provided by my friend Dr. Mark Cheng, my mother-in-law’s progress was astounding. Her headaches disappeared, her mental clarity improved, and her strength and balance increased significantly when combined with physical therapy and chiropractic care.

The Science Behind HBOT

So, what does hyperbaric oxygen therapy even do? HBOT involves breathing in pure oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. This increases the oxygen concentration within your body by 400-600%, providing fuel for your cells to build and heal.

Every physiological process in your body needs oxygen to activate each cell to do its job. By providing more oxygen, you allow your cells to perform their functions more efficiently.

HBOT in Professional Sports

Everyone loves watching professional sports, but few understand the effort it takes behind the scenes to keep athletes ready for both games and training. Athletes need to practice to get fit and learn tactics with their coaches and teammates. As a sports medicine professional, my job was to keep athletes active and mobile so they could practice, contribute, and be chosen to play the game.

Player availability for practice and matches is a critical metric. To maintain high availability, we needed recovery strategies that would enable athletes to turn around quickly for the next day. The harder you work out, the more focus you need to place on your recovery.

From a physiological standpoint, the times you’re not working out are when you’re building muscle and resilience. If you don’t optimize that time by hydrating, eating the right food, getting your mind right, or getting enough sleep, your recovery will be lacking.

In late 2022, when LAFC won the MLS Cup, our performance department was brainstorming ways to enhance recovery. We had many games and some older players who weren’t spring chickens anymore. With my background and knowledge, the club trusted me to bring a chamber into our facility for use within the medical and performance departments.

When you exercise or get hurt as much as professional athletes, your body is always in repair mode. We utilized technology and our expertise to achieve the desired results. Fortunately, we won the MLS Cup in 2022 and reached the championship match in 2023, with 100% availability after a 53-match season.

How HBOT Enhances Recovery

HBOT increases the oxygen concentration in your body to power your cells. It supercharges the recovery process by speeding up healing, decreasing inflammation, and boosting lymphatic flow to eliminate waste products quickly. This helps athletes feel fresher and more energetic, ready to take on the next day’s activities.

From a longevity standpoint, continued use of HBOT can lead to the release of stem cells and the formation of new blood vessels, further aiding athletic recovery and performance. Unlike other modalities in the sports performance world, HBOT gives your body the opportunity to do what it was designed to do.

Conclusion

Whether it’s professional or recreational sports, overtraining and chronic injuries are common. Sometimes, we just need a bit of a spark to get going again. If you’re interested in learning more about how Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help with athletic recovery, feel free to comment below, visit our website, or reach out to one of our experts by giving our facility a call. We look forward to helping you achieve your health and performance goals with HBOT.