Should oxygen be on a prohibited list

• Published in: Journal of sports science & medicine 2009-12, Vol.8
• Main Author: Dikic, N
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Athletes; Exercise (intensity); Higher education; Hypoxia; Intercollegiate sports; Mountain climbing; Respiration; Speed; Team sports; Therapy
• ISSN: 1303-2968; 1303-2968

In the draft of the 2010 prohibited list for the first time is prohibited the use of hyperoxic conditions, except for medical emergencies and in those sports where the use of supplemental oxygen is mandated as a safety requirement (aeronautic, mountaineering). This raised attention of various groups of experts, as well as athletes. There are no clear definitions of hyperoxic conditions, but one of the definitions for hyperoxia is a condition characterized by greater oxygen content of the tissues and organs than normally exists at sea level (Merriam Webster dictionary). In reality, we could make greater oxygen content in our body by breathing pure oxygen from the bottle, by using hyperbaric therapy or using different kinds of hypoxic devices, including living in the hypoxic environment. All methods are providing more oxygen in our tissues. Does it mean that all those methods are forbidden? For example hypoxic training is frequently used by competitive athletes to improve sea-level performance, but benefits are controversial. Hypoxic exercise may increase the training stimulus, thus magnifying the effects of endurance training, but conversely, hypoxia limits training intensity, which in elite athletes may result in relative deconditioning. Even modern approach of living and training at altitude have not been proven to be advantageous compared with equivalent training at sea level. Totally the opposite hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is defined as a medical treatment in which the patient breathes 100% oxygen intermittently while inside a chamber at a pressure greater than 1 atmosphere absolute. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society currently approves 13 medical indications for treatment with HBO. But certain sport experts try to direct professional and college athletic teams to use HBO to treat sports injuries, to speed recovery after exercise, and as an ergogenic aid to enhance performance, but without real proof of the oxygen activity. Finally, bottled oxygen is the most frequently accessible method by many athletes. When is acceptable and justifying using that kind of oxygen and other methods, it is the open question which should be discussed. There are many guidelines for using the oxygen and only WADA seeks international harmonization to prohibit it. Oxygen should not be added to the list, since there is no clear evidence that enhance performance, has negative health effect and it is against the spirit of sport, which means that doesn't fulfil the