Hydrogen Therapy Helps Healthcare Workers Combat Burnout and Stress
- Authors
- K.V. Kotenko, A.A. Mikhailova, S.N. Nagornev, E.S. Vasilieva, V.K. Frolkov, Ya.S. Olifer, A.V. Badimova, I.V. Reshetova, N.B. Korchazhkina
- Journal
- Problems of Balneology, Physiotherapy and Exercise Therapy
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.17116/kurort202510205217
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Russia
- Health Condition
- Occupational Burnout Syndrome
- Body System
- Nervous System
TL;DR
Hydrogen therapy improved stress-related biological and psychological markers in medical workers with burnout, supporting recovery and stress resilience.
Key Finding
Combined physiotherapy including hydrogen therapy, cryotherapy, magnetic therapy, and hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy produced greater improvements in burnout symptoms and stress markers than any single therapy alone in medical workers with occupational burnout syndrome.
Summary
This study tested whether various physical therapies—including hydrogen therapy, cold exposure, magnetic therapy, and controlled oxygen breathing—could help medical workers suffering from occupational burnout (a condition of emotional exhaustion from work stress). Researchers divided 150 burned-out medical workers into groups that received different combinations of these therapies alongside exercise and counseling. The combined use of all therapies together produced the strongest improvements in stress markers and burnout symptoms, with single therapies showing 12-38% improvement compared to exercise and counseling alone.
Practical Takeaway
This study suggests that hydrogen therapy as part of a multi-modal treatment approach may support recovery from occupational burnout in medical professionals. However, the study did not isolate hydrogen therapy's individual effects, so it's unclear how much benefit comes from hydrogen specifically versus the other therapies or their combination. The findings are limited to medical workers and would need to be confirmed in other populations before broader conclusions can be drawn.
Abstract (excerpt)
Professional burnout syndrome is becoming an increasingly important social and medical problem, as it can occur in almost every third doctor or nurse. This syndrome is based on chronic stress, which provokes the development of a close relationship between the indicators of various psychological…