From Physiology to Practice: How Hyperbaric Therapy Accelerates Recovery in Long COVID and Chronic Pain

 

Dr. Erik Nadruz, specialist in internal medicine, medical researcher, and professor of Physiology in Punta del Este, shares data from his experience with 56 post-COVID patients and over 500 cases of pain treated with hyperbaric therapy. The key? Clear protocols, objective measurements, and immediate availability.

 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is reaching a turning point. What began as an academic curiosity about the effects of oxygen at the cellular level has now evolved into clinical protocols that transform daily medical practice. Dr. Nadruz details his journey and the results he is seeing in patients with Long COVID, chronic pain, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

From the Laboratory to the Chamber: Why HBOT

 

For an internist and physiology professor, the question is not whether oxygen matters, but how to use it therapeutically. HBOT increases the partial pressure of oxygen in plasma, improves tissue perfusion, and modulates inflammatory processes. This approach, as Dr. Nadruz explains, “is born at the cellular level” and guides its clinical adoption.

 

Long COVID: Protocol, Metrics, and Results

 

• Cohort: 56 patients with persistent fatigue and/or shortness of breath after COVID.
  
  

• Protocol: 20 HBOT sessions with assessments including oxygen saturation, Bohr test, and 6-minute walk test.
  
  

• Results: 80–100% improvement; the turning point occurs between sessions 10–13.
  
  

• Highlighted case: An athlete progressively resuming training after regaining exercise tolerance.
  
  

These metrics make it possible to create internal guidelines and determine with greater accuracy the duration of treatment and milestones for reevaluation.

 

Chronic Pain: Fewer Drugs, More Function

 

In conditions such as fibromyalgia and spinal pain, Dr. Nadruz’s team reports complete pain relief in selected patients, allowing withdrawal of analgesics — including opioids — and transition to maintenance protocols. More than 500 treated cases support this paradigm shift: HBOT as a synergistic coadjuvant that enhances conventional therapy.

 

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: The Critical Variable Is Time

Maldonado records the highest rate of CO poisoning in Uruguay during winter. The local program’s distinguishing factor is immediacy: diagnosis and HBOT within approximately 30 minutes. Among nearly 50 patients with severe cases (≥50% carboxyhemoglobin), symptom resolution and 6-month follow-ups showed no complications, thanks to 24/7 coordination with local hospitals.

 

HBOT doesn’t replace — it enhances. 

When integrated with physiological understanding, clear protocols, and timely access, clinical results and patient satisfaction speak for themselves.

 

Is your clinic ready to take the next step?

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