NFL Athletes Using Hyperbaric Chamber to Accelerate Healing

The 2016 NFL Draft starts this Thursday, April 28th, and will be aired on ESPN. Hundreds of young men that were just in classrooms a few months ago will don suits and snapback hats to pledge allegiance to their new employers and fanbases.

In today’s world, with our knowledge of how the violent game of football impacts the bodies of football players, NFL stars are doing everything they can to prolong their careers from being drafted in their early twenties all the way through their primes into their late thirties.

One of the ways NFL athletes recover from a long day on the field is with oxygen therapy from a hyperbaric chamber. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has produced benefits in a range of conditions and slows the aging process by stimulating the production of mitochondria inside cells. This increases the cells energy and allows athletes to speed up their own healing process and reduces or eliminates the necessity for potentially addictive opiate pain pills or banned substances.

This is crucial in today’s athletic environment, where an injury can cost an athlete millions of dollars or their entire career by aggravating chronic injuries:

A sports injury can be especially devastating for an athlete. Often, athletes re-injure themselves or make their conditions worse by attempting to return to full activity before their bodies have healed completely. Athletes sidelined because of injury can lose their standing in national rankings, or their place on a team. Because elite athletes have so much at stake, many have turned to mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy to speed recovery. 

According to Steve Weatherford of the New York Giants, many NFL players go ahead and sleep in their personal hyperbaric chambers! From USA Today:

Despite how futuristic sleeping in hyperbaric chamber may seem, this has actually become a common practice among many NFL players for a few years now. I have my own portable chamber in my house! The reason for why I and so many NFL players engage in sleeping these chambers is because a hyperbaric chamber reduces swelling, promotes the healing of wounds, helps fight off dangerous infections, and increases the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream.

One of those athletes is Weatherford’s New York Giants teammate, RB Rashad Jennings. Jennings appeared on ESPN this past NFL season to show reporter Hannah Storm the logistics and benefits of bringing his own personal hyperbaric chamber on the road (If you can’t watch the video, click here).

Other NFL players that use hyperbaric chambers include former Georgia Bulldogs Benjamin Watson and Hines Ward, Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Schaub, RB Reggie Bush, Steelers LB James Harrison, and Tim Tebow. Athletes outside of the NFL that use hyperbaric chambers include the MLB’s Matt Kemp and Adrian Beltre, UFC star Urijah Faber, and golf legend Tiger Woods.

In addition to accelerating the healing process for athletes, hyperbaric therapy can be used in the treatment of the following conditions:

  • Autism
  • ADD/ ADHD
  • Stroke
  • Anti-aging
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Lyme Disease
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Post-Surgery
  • Migraine Headaches
  • Vascular Disease
  • Burns

Contact us to learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber!

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated blood cells: a prospective trial

Israel’s Shamir Medical Center Publishes Paper in Joural Aging

Introduction: Aging is characterized by the progressive loss of physiological capacity. At the cellular level, two key hallmarks of the aging process include telomere length (TL) shortening and cellular senescence. Repeated intermittent hyperoxic exposures, using certain hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) protocols, can induce regenerative effects which normally occur during hypoxia.

Figure 1. Telomere length changes with HBOT. Mean+SEM *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

Figure 2. Senescent cell changes with HBOT. Mean+SEM *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

Results: Telomeres length of T helper, T cytotoxic, natural killer and B cells increased significantly by over 20% following HBOT. The most significant change was noticed in B cells which increased at the 30th session, 60th session and post HBOT by 25.68%±40.42 (p=0.007), 29.39%±23.39 (p=0.0001) and 37.63%±52.73 (p=0.007), respectively.

There was a significant decrease in the number of senescent T helpers by -37.30%±33.04 post-HBOT (P<0.0001). T-cytotoxic senescent cell percentages decreased significantly by -10.96%±12.59 (p=0.0004) post-HBOT.

In conclusion, the study indicates that HBOT may induce significant senolytic effects including significantly increasing telomere length and clearance of senescent cells in the aging populations.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been shown to increase telomere length and clear senescent (or defunct) cells in aging populations, both of which effectively reverse age-related decline. HBOT has been shown to help patients think faster and feel greater vitality and less pain.

How HBOT Treatment Helps with Anti-Aging?
1.Builds new collagen, skin and tissues
2.Improves brain tissue oxygenation and regeneration
3.Regrows new blood vessels and improves blood flow
4.Speeds recovery and rehabilitation time
5.Increases stem cell mobilization
6.Up-regulates growth hormones
7.Reduces pain and swelling
8.Kills bacteria and infections and makes antibiotics more effective

What the Research Says

At the cellular level, two hallmarks of aging include the shortening of telomere length and cellular senescence (cell death). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been clinically proven to increase telomere length and clear senescent cells in aging populations.

HBOT reverse aging treatment also helps patients think faster, feel greater vitality, and have less pain. A significant body of research, including MRIs, videos, imaging, and photos, shows the progressive effect of hyperbarics on aging.

In addition, hyperbaric oxygen treatment helps produce more collagen to repair skin, grow new blood vessels to feed more oxygen to muscles, joints, bones, and nerves, decrease the expression of inflammatory genes, and stimulate healthy genes and stem cells to reproduce more rapidly.

1. Enhanced Tissue Repair and Wound Healing
Mechanism: Increases oxygen saturation in damaged tissues, stimulating collagen production and angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation).
Applications:
Accelerates healing of chronic wounds (e.g., diabetic ulcers, burns).
Reduces recovery time for surgical or traumatic injuries.
Source: American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines for diabetic wound care.
2. Anti-Aging and Cellular Regeneration
Mechanism: Boosts mitochondrial function and activates stem cells, promoting cellular repair.
Key Effects:
Telomere Lengthening: A 2020 Israeli study found HBOT increased telomere length (a biomarker of aging) by 20-38% in healthy adults.
Senescent Cell Reduction: HBOT clears “zombie cells” linked to age-related diseases.
Source: Study published in Aging (2020), Tel Aviv University.
3. Neuroprotection and Cognitive Improvement
Mechanism: Improves cerebral blood flow, reduces neuroinflammation, and enhances neuroplasticity.
Applications:
Slows cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.
Aids recovery from stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-concussion syndrome.
Source: Clinical trial in Neurobiology of Aging (2021) showing improved memory in Alzheimer’s patients.
4. Reduction of Chronic Inflammation
Mechanism: Suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-6) and activates anti-inflammatory pathways.
Applications:
Alleviates symptoms of autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis).
Reduces systemic inflammation linked to aging (“inflammaging”).
5. Improved Athletic Performance and Recovery
Mechanism: Enhances oxygen delivery to muscles, reduces lactic acid buildup, and repairs microtrauma
Benefits:
Faster recovery from intense training or injuries.
Delays muscle fatigue and improves endurance.
Source: Used by professional athletes and endorsed by sports medicine journals.
6. Support for Cancer Treatment
Mechanism: Sensitizes cancer cells to radiation therapy while protecting healthy tissues.
Applications:
Adjuvant therapy for radiation-induced tissue damage (e.g., osteoradionecrosis).
Reduces side effects of chemotherapy.
Source: FDA-approved for specific cancer-related conditions.
7. Immune System Modulation
Mechanism: Enhances white blood cell activity and antibody production.
Benefits:
Fights resistant infections (e.g., osteomyelitis, gangrene).
Improves outcomes in sepsis and COVID-19-related hypoxia.
8. Mental Health and Mood Enhancement
Mechanism: Increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), linked to neurogenesis and mood regulation.
Applications:
Reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Improves quality of life in PTSD patients.
9. Vision and Hearing Recovery
Mechanism: Restores oxygen supply to damaged sensory cells.
Applications:
Treats sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).
Improves outcomes in retinal artery occlusion.
10. Combating Radiation Damage
Mechanism: Repairs tissues damaged by radiation (e.g., after cancer therapy).
FDA Approval: Specifically approved for radiation necrosis and gas embolism.