The Effects of Hydrogen-rich Formulation for Treatment of Sport-related Soft Tissue Injuries

Summary

Since hydrogen therapy in humans seems to be beneficial for treating inflammation, ischemia-reperfusion injury and oxidative stress, it seems plausible to evaluate the effects of exogenously administered hydrogen as an element of instant management of sport-related soft tissue injuries (e.g. muscle sprain, ligament strain, tendonitis, contusion). The main aim of the present study will be to examine the effects of two-week hydrogen-rich oral and topical administration on the inflammation, recovery and functional abilities in competitive male and female athletes after acute soft-tissue injury. During the season 2012/2013 (from February to June) subjects (36 professional athletes) will be recruited and examined by certified sports medicine specialist in the out-patient clinics of the Center for Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences in the first 24 hours after the sport-related soft tissue injury was sustained. The subjects will be allocated to a double-blind design to three randomly assigned trials. During the period of 2 weeks subjects in the placebo group (PLA) will receive traditional treatment protocol after the soft-tissue injury, consisting of RICE protocol during the first 48 h and sub-acute protocol thereafter. Subjects in the first experimental group will follow the above procedures with additional administration of oral hydrogen-rich capsules (4 capsules three times per day) throughout the study. Subjects in the second experimental group will follow the procedures of first experimental group with additional administration of hydrogen-rick packs 6 times per day for 20 minutes throughout the study. Participants will be evaluated at the beginning of the study (e.g. at the time of the injury report), after 7 and 14 days after baseline testing for: a) serum C-reactive protein, plasma viscosity and interleukin 6 level, b) pain intensity during rest and walking, c) degree of joint swelling, d) passive joint flexibility, and, e) subjective side-effects. The investigators expect that the administration of hydrogen will significantly improve inflammation outcomes (e.g. decrease in serum C-reactive protein) as compared to the placebo, with topical hydrogen administration will additionally improve post-injury recovery outcomes (e.g. pain intensity, degree of swelling). These results could support the hypothesis that hydrogen-rich intervention may be included as an element of immediate treatment for sport-related soft tissue injuries.

Conditions

• Soft Tissue Injuries

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

HYDRO

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

ACTIVE

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

HYDRO 2

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Center for Health Sciences, Serbia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sergej M Ostojic, MD, PhD · Center for Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-12-31

Primary Completion

2013-06-30

Completion

2013-09-30

Countries

• Serbia

Study Locations