Amateur and professional athletes, and even the average person, are always looking for a leg up in improving their performance and seeing the results of their efforts faster. While there’s no way to guarantee faster or better results, there are solutions for boosting general wellness while offering the benefits of increasing the efficiency of oxygen in the body.
Hyperbaric wellness is becoming a mainstream solution, both thanks to endorsements from world-class athletes, and as more clinics, sports clubs and wellness centers adopt hyperbarics as a centerpiece of their sustainable wellness practice.
Hyperbaric Therapy For Athletes and Aspiring Athletes
Hyperbaric therapy has been used for over 300 years for many reasons, including to increase athletic performance. In the 21st century, many users achieve tangible wellness results from hyperbaric therapy, including:
- improved energy levels
- better recovery time
- increased motivation.
Hyperbaric chambers are, therefore, rapidly growing in popularity around the world among both amateur and professional athletes. Basketball legend LeBron James and football star Neymar Jr along with over 1,200 other athletes already own OxyHealth chambers for personal use, and Liverpool Football Club have installed one in the training ground for the use of their players.
Not every athlete or gym user is LeBron James, but any person at any age can experience the wellness benefits of increasing oxygenation to their body’s tissues and increasing blood flow and circulation.
In this article, we explain the principles behind hyperbaric chamber use and the potential benefits to athletes.
What Is Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy?
Hyperbaric chambers create a sealed environment in which users are exposed to higher concentrations of oxygen, at a slightly higher atmospheric pressure. The idea behind it is simple: the more oxygen your body can absorb, the better your body and brain work, and the better you feel. It’s the reason why deep breathing reduces muscle tension and stress – and is linked to a range of health benefits, from better sleep quality to improved mental health.
Our hyperbaric chambers compress room air to around 1.3 times normal atmospheric pressure. This is the equivalent of being 3 m underwater. This is known as mild hyperbaric therapy, and is generally safe for regular use with no known complications. Our medical-grade steel hyperbaric chambers use a compression level of up to 2.0-3.0 ATA, but this isn’t what our wellness chambers do. Our sports chambers are designed to promote wellness, not to be used as medical devices to treat any particular condition.
Why does this increased pressure matter? Because at normal atmospheric pressures, our bloodstream is 97% saturated with oxygen, with each of our red blood cells carrying four oxygen molecules. Under pressure, the oxygen molecules are compressed, making them small enough to get into and saturate the blood plasma as well. This increases our oxygen saturation level, and enables oxygen to reach more parts of the body, in greater quantities.
What Are The Benefits of Hyperbarics For Athletes?
Injuries, micro tears, inflammation, and simple tiredness, are par for the course in sports, especially for high-performance, high-intensity athletes. Even during training, lactic acid buildup and inflammation can inhibit performance, and professional competition places a great strain on the body.
Hyperbaric therapy can be used alongside other supportive treatments, including compression boots, cryotherapy, sports massage, acupuncture, and hot cup treatment, to improve recuperation time and boost sports performance.
Hyperbaric chamber therapy is reported to offer the following potential benefits:
- Improve alertness and concentration
- Shorten recovery time after injury
- Help athletes and sports people avoid injuries
- Improve stamina during workouts, training, and competition
- Reduce inflammation – leading to lower incidences of general aches and pains
- Increase relaxation, leading to better quality sleep and a greater sense of wellness
Why OxyHealth For Your Hyperbaric Chamber?
OxyHealth offers the world’s leading high-quality hyperbaric wellness chambers for home and non-medical use. Our mild hyperbaric chamber range is used by over 1,200 professional and amateur athletes around the world, and is increasingly featured by the world’s top athletes and in leading athletics clubs and gyms as part of their wellness and relaxation therapies.
With many users feeling positive effects in terms of recovery time, stress reduction, and injury avoidance, a hyperbaric chamber is a great investment for your club. Give us a call today to discuss your requirements.
