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Clinics Checked · 2 min · 3 sources

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a hospital treatment, sold as wellness

In hospitals, breathing pure oxygen under pressure treats diving injuries, radiation damage and some wounds. In wellness centres, the evidence is much thinner.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, means breathing close to pure oxygen inside a chamber pressurised above normal air pressure. Hospitals in Australia run large multi-person chambers to treat divers with the bends and patients with particular injuries. Smaller "soft" chambers are now sold and rented for wellness, recovery and anti-ageing.

A multiplace hyperbaric chamber at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, Israel
A multi-person hyperbaric chamber of the kind used in hospitalsPhoto: Mediajen, CC0

In medicine

The Cochrane Collaboration, which reviews medical evidence, has looked at hyperbaric oxygen for several conditions.

  • Radiation injury. A 2023 Cochrane review found small studies suggesting HBOT may improve outcomes for late radiation injury to the head, neck, bladder and rectum, with low to moderate certainty.
  • Chronic wounds. A 2015 Cochrane review found HBOT improved healing of diabetic foot ulcers in the short term but not the long term, and the trials had flaws.

For recovery and wellness

A 2026 meta-analysis in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation pooled 10 trials with 299 people. HBOT sped up recovery on measures of muscle injury, but it did not reduce muscle soreness overall. There is little trial evidence for the broader wellness claims made for home and retail chambers.

Yes, but

The medical evidence comes from hospital treatment under medical supervision, for specific conditions; it does not carry over to retail and home chambers. The Cochrane radiation review noted risks including temporary loss of sharpness in eyesight and ear injury from the pressure.

When to talk to your GP

Before any HBOT, especially with lung disease, an ear or sinus problem, or if you are pregnant. Hospital treatment for an approved condition is by referral.

Sources

  1. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for late radiation tissue injury, Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2023
  2. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic wounds, Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2015
  3. Effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on exercise-induced muscle injury and soreness: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2026

Last checked 3 October 2026. Corrections are welcome: details on the about page.

General information, not medical advice. Check with your GP first, especially if you are pregnant, have a heart condition or take medication.

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