Headache, migraine and oxygen: what does research say?
Oxygen has a longer history with headaches than most people think. Pure oxygen is a well-known approach for cluster headache, and hyperbaric oxygen has been studied for migraine attacks.
Migraine affects up to one in five women and many men, and cluster headache is rarer but very intense. Both have a vascular component, which is why oxygen has long been part of the picture. Normobaric oxygen is oxygen at normal pressure; hyperbaric oxygen is given at raised pressure in a chamber.
A Cochrane review of eleven trials pooled data from three small studies and found that hyperbaric oxygen relieved acute migraine attacks more often than a sham treatment. Normobaric oxygen helped end cluster headache attacks in small trials. The reviewers rated the evidence as low quality and called for more research.
Good to know: these pages are for information only and are not medical advice. The research described was carried out by the cited researchers, often in hospital settings. Always consult your doctor about health complaints and before starting.
We use it ourselves
This theme is personal for us too: within our team and our own circle there is first-hand experience with it. Every story is different, so we would rather share it in a personal conversation than on a web page. Come by the showroom or call us.
What researchers measured
The studies and data come from the researchers and journals cited, not from OxyBoost. We show them for information only.
- HBOTMeta-analysis2015
Normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment and prevention of migraine and cluster headache
Bennett MH, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2015)
11 trials, 209 people with migraine or cluster headache
A Cochrane review of oxygen under normal and raised pressure. Pooled data from three small trials suggested that HBOT relieved acute migraine attacks more often than a sham treatment; normobaric oxygen helped end cluster headache attacks in small trials. The reviewers rated the evidence as low quality and called for more research.