It’s one thing to use a novel therapy like ozone and see your patients heal and thrive, but you also want to have a strong record of scientific evidence supporting it.
And to be honest, for all the research that’s been done, only about 20% of all clinical practices are supported by randomized, controlled trials, the traditional gold standard of scientific research. The rest is typically based on “a combination of less reliable studies, unsystematic observation, informed guesswork and conformity to prevailing treatments and procedures used by most other clinicians in a local community.”
So it’s great to see so much new research coming out in support of ozone, showing how it really can be helpful in treating a wide range of health conditions. Let’s take a look at a few of these studies. (Not familiar with medical ozone? Take a few minutes to read this quick overview of what it is and how it works.) ,
Ozone Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis
The most recent study just came out in Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery and reviewed 11 previous studies involving 858 patients. While its authors found methodological inconsistencies and potential bias among them, they still found the results strong enough to deem ozone therapy “a safe approach with encouraging effects in pain control and functional recovery in the short-middle term.”
As an accompanying editorial noted, while the findings didn’t rise to the level of definitive proof,
there are some positives that can be drawn from the currently available literature on ozone therapy, including production of antioxidant enzymes and cytokines that can result in pain relief and improvement in knee functional status.
Accordingly, the editor calls for more, better quality research using standard protocols to better understand ozone’s role in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers with Ozone
Foot ulcers are one of the most common complications of diabetes. They’re also quite difficult to treat. For this study, published last winter in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, researchers recruited 200 diabetes patients with foot ulcers of varying severity. Half the group got standard care, while the others received ozone therapy in addition to standard care.
Every single patient in the ozone group experience full wound closure. Healing was also quicker.
Our study results support the efficacy of ozone therapy especially in its comprehensive use in DFU [diabetic foot ulcer] healing and reduction in the chances of infection and amputation.
Ozone Therapy for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome & Fibromyalgia
Complex regional pain syndrome refers to chronic pain, usually in an arm or leg, after an injury, stroke, heart attack, or surgery. It’s not considered curable; only manageable. Yet a case report in Current Pain and Headache Reports suggests that ozone may be an effective tool for this condition, as well.
Ozone therapy has been found, in basic science studies, to ameliorate many of the mechanisms promoting chronic pain and inflammation, including hypoxia, inflammatory mediators, and infection. Direct intravenous oxygen/ozone gas was administered nearly daily to an 11-year-old girl diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy and extremely frequent pseudoseizures. She rapidly improved. After 120 sessions, all symptoms had disappeared.
Ozone’s novel biochemical properties may make it a unique, safe, relatively inexpensive, and effective modality for the treatment of pain. In this particular case, it resolved the chronic condition when opiates were ineffective for even pain relief.
Meantime, other research suggests ozone may be similarly helpful in the treatment of fibromyalgia. In one study, 65 adults between the ages of 30 and 72 – mostly women – took part, receiving twice weekly ozone treatments for one month, and then monthly treatments after that for maintenance.
Seventy percent of the patients reported symptom improvement of 50% or more. None reported any side effects – another big, big benefit of this modality.
Ozone to Improve Female Reproductive Health
Finally, one study reviewed the emerging evidence for ozone’s ability to help with female fertility. Although most of the research to date has involved animal, not human, studies, the results, say the authors, are encouraging.
Results suggested that ozone therapy could have [a] beneficial effect on tubal occlusion, could protect from endometritis and vaginitis, might protect ovaries from ischemia and oocyte loss and finally might lead to less formation of pelvic adhesions. There is a critical need for human studies pertaining to ozone therapy, especially using safe methods of administration, such as transdermally or intravaginally, on female fertility.
We hope they’re done and look forward to learning about what they find!