Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07659301

Acute Effects of Post-Exercise Hyperoxia on Recovery in Cycling

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.

Recruiting

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Key information

Conditions

Athletic Performance Hyperbaric Oxygenation Muscle Fatigue Oxidative Stress Physical Endurance

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain

Louvain-la-Neuve, Brabant-Wallon, 1348, Belgium

Location status: Recruiting

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Road cyclists competing in Elite 2 (Elite without professional contract) or Under-23 (U23) categories or equivalent [Participation in national-level Belgian competitions within the previous 12 months. No specific ranking, finishing position, or performance threshold is required.]
≥ 2 consecutive years of cycling experience at regional or national level, with structured and periodized training
Cycling-specific training volume ≥ 8 h a week over the preceding 10 weeks
Stable training load in the weeks preceding inclusion, with no major changes due to injury, illness, or abnormal overload
Measured VO₂max ≥ 60 ml/kg/min

Exclusion criteria

Presence of significant cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, ENT, or metabolic disease, including but not limited to: Uncontrolled arterial hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥ 180 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 110 mmHg) ; Unstable heart disease or decompensated cardiomyopathy
Contraindications to hyperbaric exposure, including: Untreated pneumothorax, History of spontaneous pneumothorax without medical clearance ; Pulmonary conditions associated with air trapping (e.g. emphysema or bullous lung disease), or abnormal thoracic imaging when indicated ; Recent thoracic surgery
Neurological contraindications, including epilepsy, history of oxygen-induced seizures, or recent seizure activity, and any association with cannabis use
Ear, sinus, or Eustachian tube disorders preventing adequate pressure equalization, including active infection or history of severe barotrauma
Severe claustrophobia incompatible with chamber exposure

Treatment and study plan

Post-exercise Recovery

Other

1h intervention after a fatiguing exercise

Primary outcomes

Next-day endurance performance : Percent decrement in time to exhaustion from baseline

Time frame: Throughout the entire study, approximately during 18 months

Endurance performance measured by a cycling time-to-exhaustion test at 105% of the lactate threshold power, expressed as the percentage decrement in time to exhaustion relative to the baseline test.

Performance is compared SHAM to the other oxygen-exposure groups.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Théo A MAHY, MSc

CONTACT

[email protected]

+32 10 474 489

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Université Catholique de Louvain

Other

Collaborators

Murdoch University

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2026
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: Jun 22, 2026
Registry last updated: Jun 22, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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