Treatments for bone breaks and fractures

Recovering from a bone break or fracture is one of the most complex repairing processes a body can go through. Regrowing and healing bone is a lengthy and at times complex process. Depending on the type of break or fracture you experience depends on the method that your doctors or surgeons will use to recover the injury.

Traction – This method involves a fixed pulling motion to realign a broken bone

Reduction – Surgery to restore a dislocated or fractured bone to its proper position

Cast Immobilisation – The most commonly known treatment for fractures – the injured bone is held in a solid plaster cast to allow the bone to repair

Internal or External Fixation – A complex repair often performed as a surgical procedure. Metal pins, screws and/or bars are placed into the bones to hold them in place while the bone heals

Complications during bone repair

There are a number of reasons that the above treatments for a broken or fractured bone may be delayed or not work at all. Some of these reasons include extensive trauma to the area, ageing, infection, bone loss, diabetes, premature immobilisation and osteonecrosis (bone death and breakdown caused by reduced blood flow to bones in the joints)

These complications can potentially lead to non-union or non-healing fractures, which can cause disability or long-term chronic pain in patients. In this event it becomes incredibly difficult for doctors to restore the structural integrity of the bones.

How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy improve bone health and fractures?

HBOT offers a non-invasive alternative to patients that seek enhanced healing of non-union fractures.

The process of HBOT encourages the production of collagen. Collagen is a tough, fibrous material that fills the spaces between broken bones. It is collagen that helps to bring the broken or fractured bones back together. HBOT also enhances the production of new capillaries around the injured areas – which carries more oxygen and nutrients to the bones.

Osteoclasts are large cells that remove bone tissue by removing the mineral matrix of the bone and dissolving the collagen. It can also be referred to as bone resorption where the bone is broken down and the minerals are transferred to the blood. Osteoblasts, on the other hand, are cells responsible for bone formation. They mineralise the bone structure. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts work together to regulate the bone tissue in the body.

Animal studies have shown that osteoblasts and osteoclasts react to increased oxygen levels. In 2007, D. Wu et al conducted an experiment for Connective Tissue Research, investigating in vitro the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on osteoblasts, the cells responsible for bone formation. They discovered that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy stimulated the production of osteoblasts – proving that HBOT is effective for bone repair and growth.

We already know that HBOT can reduce swelling and inflammation, boost the immune system, improve circulation, reduce swelling and inflammation and suppress infection. These properties go hand in hand with the bone break and fracture repair process. Particularly when it comes to tibia and fibular fractures that have a poor blood supply. HBOT can also help bone grafts to heal with less chance of rejection and fewer complications.

All of these benefits that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has in the recovery of serious injuries have made it favoured by athletes. It has even been used by English professional football, rugby and cricket teams to treat injured players.

HBOT was famously used by footballer David Beckham to speed up his recovery time when he fractured his foot on the pitch. He was estimated a recovery time of 7 weeks, but with the help of a course of HBOT sessions he was back on the pitch in only three weeks.