Intermittent Hypoxic Training (or Therapy)

Intermittent Hypoxic Training (or Therapy) (IHT) is a non-invasive, [...]-free technique aiming to improve human performance and well-being using the phenomena of adaptation to reduced oxygen.

An IHT session constitutes a few minutes interval of breathing low oxygen (hypoxic) air alternated with an ambient or hyperoxic air over a 45- to 90-minute session per day. A full treatment course is 3–4 weeks. As a rule, the patient remains stationary and breathes hypoxic air via a hand-held mask. Therapy is delivered using a hypoxicator during the day time, while the dosage is monitored. Biofeedback can be controlled using a pulse oximeter.

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It is important to differentiate between physiological adaptations to mild hypoxia / re-oxygenation episodes (i.e. IHT protocol) and frequent nocturnal suffocation awakenings produced by sleep apnoea, which might result in various pathologies.

The phenomenon of IHT is that it delivers a non-damaging training stimulus that naturally triggers a cascade of beneficial adaptive responses without adverse effects. The response is almost instant and is evident at various levels: from systemic down to cellular.
Treatment dosage of IHT can be measured and expressed as Hypoxic Training Index.
IHT can be beneficial for the treatment of a wide range of degenerative diseases:
• chronic heart and lung diseases
• hypertension
• asthma and chronic bronchitis
• liver and Pancreatic diseases
• anxiety and depression
• iron-deficiency anaemia
• lack of energy and fatigue.
IHT also improves mitochondrial status, aerobic and anaerobic performance.
IHT is contra-indicated in case of:

• acute somatic and viral diseases
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD-II and COPD-III)
• chronic diseases with symptoms of decompensation or terminal illness
• individual intolerance of oxygen insufficiency
• cancer, unless IHT is prescribed by a doctor
• people with epilepsy, pacemakers or heart arrhythmias, unless treatment (including IHT) is under direct medical supervision.
Although there are no reported adverse effects with IHT, basic treatment protocol suggested by the manufacturer must be followed.
==References==

  • Watch Videos about IHT

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=i7oEKp2E7Uc
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=fQTepZQe9O8&feature=channel_page