Athletes who think inhaling pure oxygen helps them are full of hot air, according to a new study.
"Using 100 percent oxygen applied for short periods offers no advantage on recovery from exhaustive exercise or on subsequent exercise performance," the researchers said in the new edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.Brian McCaskey, an assistant trainer with the Chicago Bears, said National Football League rules require oxygen tanks to be available on the sidelines at all games in case of medical emergencies.
"We have only a handful of players who will utilize oxygen," he said, adding that most trainers know breathing pure oxygen provides no real performance benefits.
"If I have a player who's having a tough time breathing, I'll utilize oxygen, because psychologically, it has a relaxing effect, and that in turn will have a physiological effect and help them get calmed down," he said.
Researchers, led by Dr. F. David Winter Jr. of Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, studied 12 members of the Dallas Sidekicks soccer team, the JAMA article said.
Tests on the athletes showed they had the same heart-recovery rates and capacities to perform after bouts of exhausting exercise whether breathing room air or 100 percent oxygen during brief recovery periods.
An accompanying editorial by fitness pioneer Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper and colleagues at the Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas stated that blood in the arteries is nearly completely saturated with oxygen when people are breathing regular air, making it unlikely that breathing oxygen-enriched air would add any benefit.
George Lesmes, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Northeastern Illinois University, said, "You're putting more fuel into the engine, but if the engine doesn't have added cylinders to burn that fuel, it's just wasted fuel."
Ironically, previous research suggests the body could clear itself of blood-borne waste products faster if the person walked and breathed ordinary air rather than sat and breathed pure oxygen after exhausting exercise, said the JAMA editorial.
Still, "it is common to see a college or professional football player come to the sidelines, place a mask over his nose and mouth, and breathe from an oxygen mask," the editorial said.
"Although the procedure is not likely to be harmful, it is totally ineffectual."