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Acute Effects of Post-Exercise Hyperoxia on Recovery in Cycling

NCT07659301 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 48

Last updated 2026-06-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study examines whether exposition to hyperbaric oxygen after a road-race simulation can help competitive cyclists recover and perform better the following day.

Hyperbaric oxygen, which involves breathing oxygen inside a pressurized chamber, is used as a recovery method in elite and professional sport. Its effectiveness, however, remains controversial: despite this widespread use, there is a lack of solid scientific evidence that a single HBO session after strenuous endurance exercise actually improves recovery, or that clarifies how the amount of oxygen exposure influences any benefit.

The study includes healthy male road cyclists between 18 and 40 years of age who compete at the national level in Belgium. After completing a fatiguing cycling session, each participant is randomly assigned to one of four groups receiving different levels of oxygen exposure during recovery.

Two groups breathe oxygen under increased pressure inside a chamber at either 2.5 or 1.4 atmospheres absolute. A third group breathes oxygen at normal pressure. The fourth group receives a sham condition that reproduces the treatment setting without active oxygen exposure.

The study is double-blind, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers assessing the outcomes know which condition each participant receives.

The main goal is to determine whether a single session of post-exercise HBO improves next-day endurance performance, and whether higher oxygen exposure produces greater effects.

The researchers also collect blood samples and physiological measurements to better understand how the body recovers.

Conditions

  • Athletic Performance
  • Hyperbaric Oxygenation
  • Physical Endurance
  • Muscle Fatigue
  • Oxidative Stress

Interventions

OTHER

Post-exercise Recovery

1h intervention after a fatiguing exercise

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Murdoch University

    collaborator OTHER

  • Université Catholique de Louvain

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
40 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-07-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-31
Completion
2027-12-31

Countries

  • Belgium

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07659301 on ClinicalTrials.gov