US Olympic Skier Resorts to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Recover from Bone Fracture

Athletes regularly experience injury due to the nature of their work. Many times, the injury takes a considerable time to heal, which hampers the progress of the athlete. Some of these cases also suffer an injury from which we can’t fully recover.

To promote healing in these cases, a hyperbaric chamber for athletes is utilized by many players. In this article, we will discuss the story of one such athlete, Nina O’Brien, who suffered a severe bone injury and recovered with the help of a hyperbaric chamber for athletes.

US Olympic Skier Suffered Injury

Nina O’Brien explains her story of the Olympics in Beijing. During the GS race held in Beijing, Nina felt confident before the start of the game. She has previously performed well as a skier, but she felt she was not able to give her best sometimes.

Therefore, during this particular day, Nina woke up feeling confident. She didn’t want to think of the outcome, she just wanted to give her best. Keeping this thought in mind, she completed the first run with flying colors. While she felt she made a few mistakes, she was more confident now.

When she went in for the second run, she was mentally preparing herself for the run. She didn’t want to not give her all, so she built her confidence for this run. However, when skiing, she felt she was not doing very well. The pressure was building and she experienced a crash. Nina explained that she doesn’t remember how the crash happened, but she can recall the events.

After the fall, she was immediately rushed to the hospital specifically reserved for Olympics athletes. The good part was she was not alone, somebody was with her to assist her. That night she received a surgery for compound fracture, which the doctors stabilized. For the next two days, she was hospitalized and she had to rest to stabilize her situation.

From here, she moved to the hotel, where she stayed with her team and felt comfortable. When Nina moved back to the US, she started her hyperbaric therapy to recover faster. At the time of the crash, she broke her fibula and left tibia, which means severe bone injury hampering her mobility.

With regular hyperbaric therapy and support from the physicians, she is now hoping to join the sport back and enter the game after four long years.

HBOT Therapy To Help Recover From Bone Fracture

Nina explains that she used a hyperbaric chamber for athletes to regain her mobility. Her joints and walking ability were damaged when she crashed, as a result, she needed physical and hyperbaric therapy to regain her power to walk. She just wants to get back to what she loves: skiing in the snow. Therefore, Nina is training to be better.

In the end, she explained that her goal did not change at all. She needs to get stronger and again start skiing. She wants to enter the Olympics next winter, but with more power.

What Is The Use Of Hyperbaric Chamber For Athletes?

Hyperbaric therapy is the process of offering pure oxygen to the patient in a hyperbaric chamber for athletes. The chamber pressurizes once the patient sits inside and starts delivering 100% oxygen. Outside the chamber, we inhale oxygen (21%) from the air, which is transported via red blood cells in the human body. Therefore, in damaged tissues and cells, oxygen supply reduces because of inflammation and other factors.

When the patient is in the hyperbaric chamber for athletes, they are under pressure, which means gases can dissolve in liquids. Hence, at the time of this therapy, our body starts carrying oxygen through bodily liquids. For example, cerebral spinal fluid and lipids. This hyper oxygenate the body and improves oxygen concentration.

Hence, diseased and damaged tissues in the body receive proper oxygen and they start healing.

In the case of Nina as well, a hyperbaric chamber for athletes helped her by allowing her body to properly consume oxygen and heal. This involves reducing inflammation and allowing her to start walking again.

However, the therapy model is always carefully decided by the physician to avoid any side effects. You can experience oxygen poisoning with over-use of the therapy. Therefore, it is best to consult your doctor, discuss your condition, and understand what assistive therapies can offer you the best results.

Summary

Athletes experience injury during the game. However, the worst part is not experiencing the injury but recovering from it. This involves a lot of rest, which severely affects the progress of the athlete. They need to start training from square one when they go back to work.

A hyperbaric chamber for athletes helps reduce the recovery time. This means that the athlete can quickly recover from the injury and get back to their training schedule. However, HBOT therapy should always be considered as suggested by the physician, especially in cases when you have already suffered a serious injury. Connect with your physician and discuss alternate options and assistive therapies to receive the best outcome.

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