Hyperbaric
oxygenation did not improve muscle soreness or rate of recovery of muscle
strength following exercise.
Clinical Bottom Line:
1.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy did not enhance recovery following exercise-induced
loss of muscle strength.
2.
Similarly, HBOT did not improve muscle soreness following eccentric exercise.
Appraised
by: Mike Bennett, Dept. of Diving and
Hyperbaric Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital
Sydney; Monday, 16 November,
1998
Clinical
Scenario: A young adult athlete
complaining of muscle soreness following exercise.
Three-part
Question: In athletes, following
eccentric exercise, does the application of hyperbaric oxygenation compared to
normal air breathing, result in a more rapid recovery of muscle function and
soreness?
Search
Terms: hyperbaric oxygenation, muscle
injury.
The
Study:
Double-blinded concealed
randomised controlled trial with intention-to-treat.
Young adults with no known acute
or chronic disorders.
Control group (N =12; 12
analysed): Standard exercise protocol followed by 10 sessions in a sham
hyperbaric treatment (2.5 ATA, 8%O2 for 60 mins), once daily.
Experimental group (N =12 ; 12
analysed): As above, but hyperbaric oxygenation for 60 minutes daily at 2.5 ATA.
The
Evidence:
Outcomes
Time to outcomes
Air group
HBO group
P-value
Recovery
of
10
days
61%
62%
NS
muscle
strength
Muscle
soreness score
3
days
6.9
5.6
NS
Comments:
1. Well conducted study.
2. No significance values,
confidence intervals or power quoted.
Expiry date: February 2005
References:
1.
Mekjavic IB, Exner J, Tesch PA, Eiken O. Recovery of exercise-induced
loss of muscle strength and muscle soreness is unaffected by HBO therapy. In:
Proceedings of the International Joint Meeting on Hyperbaric and Underwater
Medicine, Marroni A, Oriani G, Wattel F eds. Grafica Victoria, Bologna 1996;
557-560.
2.
Mekjavic IB, Exner J, Tesch PA, Eiken O. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy does
not affect recovery from delayed onset muscle soreness. Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise 2000; 32:558-563.
