Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Sports Injury Recovery

Get back in the game faster. HBOT accelerates healing from sprains, strains, fractures, and soft tissue injuries at our Auckland clinic.

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What Are Sports Injuries?

Sports injuries occur during athletic activity or exercise and can affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and joints. Whether you're a professional athlete, weekend warrior, or fitness enthusiast, injuries can sideline you from the activities you love.

Common Sports Injuries Include:

• Sprains and strains – Ligament and muscle/tendon tears

• Fractures and stress fractures – Bone breaks from impact or repetitive stress

• Tendinitis and tendinopathy – Overuse injuries affecting tendons

• Muscle contusions – Deep bruising from direct impact

• Ligament injuries – Including ACL, MCL, and ankle ligament tears

How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Accelerates Healing

When you're injured, damaged tissues need significantly more oxygen to heal. Swelling and inflammation restrict blood flow to the injury site, creating an oxygen deficit precisely when your body needs it most. HBOT delivers oxygen under pressure, saturating your blood plasma and reaching injured areas that normal circulation cannot access—dramatically accelerating the body's natural repair processes.

Reduces Swelling & Inflammation

HBOT constricts blood vessels while increasing oxygen delivery, reducing oedema and inflammatory markers at the injury site.

Accelerates Tissue Repair

Enhanced oxygen stimulates collagen production and fibroblast activity, essential for repairing muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Promotes Bone Healing

HBOT supports osteoblast activity and new blood vessel formation, helping fractures and stress fractures heal more quickly.

Reduces Recovery Time

Athletes using HBOT often return to training and competition significantly faster than with conventional recovery alone.

What Does the Research Say?

HBOT has been used by elite athletes and professional sports teams worldwide for decades. Research demonstrates its effectiveness in accelerating recovery from various sports injuries, with studies showing reduced inflammation, faster tissue repair, and shorter return-to-play times.

Over 100 professional sports teams—including NFL, NBA, and Premier League clubs—now incorporate HBOT into their recovery protocols. Studies have shown muscle recovery improvements of up to 33% and significant reductions in post-exercise inflammation.

Learn more about the science of HBOT →

What to Expect at Our Auckland Clinic

Our process is straightforward and athlete-focused. Here's what your HBOT recovery journey looks like:

1

Injury Assessment

We discuss your injury, training goals, and timeline for return to sport.

2

Personalised Protocol

Acute injuries typically need 5-10 sessions. Chronic or severe injuries may require 10-20 sessions.

3

Inside the Chamber

Relax in our comfortable pod for 60 minutes. Many athletes use this time to visualise or rest.

4

Progress Tracking

We monitor your healing and adjust the protocol to optimise your return to peak performance.

Ready to accelerate your recovery?

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Who This May Be Suitable For

Professional Athletes

Elite competitors seeking faster recovery and return to competition

Weekend Warriors

Recreational athletes recovering from sprains, strains, or overuse injuries

Post-Surgery Recovery

Athletes recovering from ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, or other procedures

Chronic Injury Sufferers

Those dealing with persistent tendinitis, recurring strains, or slow-healing injuries

Frequently Asked Questions

For acute injuries, starting HBOT within 24-72 hours can be most beneficial, as this is when inflammation is at its peak. However, HBOT is effective at any stage of healing—even for chronic injuries that occurred months or years ago. We'll assess your specific situation and recommend the optimal timing for your protocol.

Yes, absolutely. HBOT is completely legal and approved in all professional sports. It's not on any banned substance list because it simply enhances your body's natural healing processes using oxygen. Over 100 professional sports teams worldwide—including NFL, NBA, Premier League, and Olympic programmes—use HBOT as part of their standard recovery protocols.

The number of sessions depends on your injury type and severity. Acute injuries (sprains, strains, contusions) typically respond well to 5-10 sessions. More significant injuries like ligament tears, fractures, or post-surgical recovery usually require 10-20 sessions. We'll create a personalised protocol based on your specific injury and recovery goals.

Yes, and we highly recommend it! HBOT works synergistically with physiotherapy, rehabilitation exercises, and other recovery modalities. The enhanced oxygen delivery from HBOT can make your physio sessions more effective by ensuring tissues have the resources they need to respond to treatment. Many athletes find combining HBOT with their existing recovery programme delivers the best results.

HBOT is effective for a wide range of sports injuries including muscle strains and tears, ligament sprains, tendinitis, bone fractures, stress fractures, contusions, and post-surgical recovery. It's particularly beneficial for injuries involving significant swelling, slow-healing tissues like tendons and ligaments, and situations where you need to return to activity as quickly as possible.