LeBron James might have a sweet tooth, but he demonstrates remarkable control over his diet and fitness regimen. It’s easy to stick to a strict workout plan and adhere to a schedule, but without a proper diet, those efforts can go to waste. What you put into your body is just as critical as what you do for it. Fortunately, with advancements in technology, many injuries that athletes suffer in their respective sports can be effectively healed from the inside as well.

One treatment method that you may have heard of is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) which podcaster and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan swears by and believes can help Israel Adesanya.

Joe Rogan believes Israel Adesanya can bounce back with one of LeBron James’ recovery strategies

Joining the 57-year-old in Beyond the Joe Rogan Experience, episode 164, the former 2x UFC Middleweight Champion was treated to a short engaging segment of HBOT. “So, hyperbaric chambers; it’s like two atmospheres. So, twice our atmosphere, and then you wear them oxygen mask and you sit in it for an hour and a half. And dude, you come out of that and you’re just like ‘Woo!’ like, ‘What the f— is going on!’,” Joe said, trying his best to explain how HBOT works.

Perhaps to make sure that Adesanya understood how effective oxygen therapy could be, Rogan shifted his attention to the former MMA fighter, Urijah Faber’s fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo on April 24, 2010. Aldo practically turned Faber’s left leg into “beef jerky,” as one fan noted, with several debilitating kicks for 25 minutes. Nevertheless, the HBOT treatment helped him recover from a grueling injury.

“Uriah was always ahead of the game and he was using hyperbaric chambers to help him recover,” Joe mentioned to Israel. Faber was indeed ahead of his time. According to Dr. Stoller, medical director of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic of Sacramento, and the man who helped ‘The California Kid’ bounce back, he helped “heal his broken hand” the previous year with HBOT. And he was once more at hand to help him with his leg.

The ‘Last Stylebender’ is going through a rough patch of late, especially with his recent losses to Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. Back in September 2023, he unexpectedly lost his UFC middleweight title to Strickland in a decision that many considered one of the biggest upsets of the year. Fans expressed their shock because Adesanya didn’t seem to have his usual rhythm, and it left everyone wondering what might come next for him.

And if that wasn’t enough, Izzy once again suffered defeat at the hands of current champ Plessis in August, where he was submitted in the fourth round after a peculiar grappling exchange during their title fight. This loss marked a significant moment in his career as he struggled to regain control against his opponent. Perhaps HBOT is just what Izzy needs to get back to his form.

After all, LeBron James spends $1.5 million on his body annually. And although his better half, Savannah James described the hyperbaric chamber as “its giving coffin,” in Netflix’s Starting 5, the HBOT clearly produces results (the nearly 40-year-old is still playing like his prime, isn’t he?) and has become a favorite with professional athletes.

On that note, why don’t we take a quick look at this coffin-like chamber’s workings?

How does the HBOT work?

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was first used in the US in the early 20th century. Forward to the 1940s, the U.S. Navy adopted it as a treatment for deep-sea divers suffering from decompression sickness. In the following decades, particularly in the 1960s, the therapy expanded to include the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning among its medical applications.

But now, HBOT is used for a variety of causes like cyanide poisoning, crush injuries, compromised skin grafts and flaps, diabetic wounds that do not heal properly, acute or traumatic reduced blood flow in the arteries, and yes, athletes also swear by them. So, to our point, how does it work?

Well, if you are going the straightforward route, here is what popular lifestyle coach and author of the #1 Amazon Best-Selling book, The Fasted Lifestyle: The Complete Guide to Intermittent Fasting, Ben Smith says. “It delivers pure oxygen at high pressure, forcing more oxygen to dissolve in blood plasma. This increased oxygen in the bloodstream reaches more tissues and organs, super-charging the body’s healing by providing extra energy for cell repair and reducing inflammation.”

Now, if I had to break down it into quick bullet points, this is how it looks:

• HBOT helps wounds heal by delivering oxygen-rich blood to areas that aren’t getting enough oxygen. This extra oxygen supports the healing process in damaged tissues.
• It helps prevent “reperfusion injury,” which occurs when blood flow returns to tissues that have been without oxygen, leading to harmful oxygen radicals that can cause further damage. HBOT boosts the body’s natural defense system by cleaning up these harmful molecules and supports healing.
• Furthermore, the therapy helps fight infections by disabling toxins from certain bacteria, increasing oxygen levels in tissues to strengthen their defenses, and improving how well white blood cells can find and get rid of harmful germs.
• Finally, HBOT boosts the healing process by helping the body create new skin and blood vessels, which are essential for recovery.

Well, there you go. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy stands out as a promising recovery tool not only for athletes like Israel Adesanya but also for anyone looking to enhance their healing process. With endorsements from notable figures such as Joe Rogan and the impressive recovery stories of athletes like Urijah Faber, it’s clear that HBOT can play a significant role in improving athletic performance and overall health.

As LeBron James showcases, investing in one’s body can lead to prolonged success in sports. Given the growing acceptance and use of HBOT among professional athletes, it may very well become a standard component of recovery regimens moving forward.