Can hydrogen therapy help with workplace burnout?

Yes, this study found hydrogen therapy improved stress resistance and reduced burnout symptoms by 12-23% in healthcare workers. It appears to work by reducing harmful molecules that cause stress and inflammation in the body.

How was hydrogen therapy tested for burnout?

Researchers studied 150 medical workers with burnout symptoms, giving some hydrogen therapy while others received different treatments. They measured stress and burnout levels before and after treatment using standard questionnaires.

Is hydrogen therapy safe for stressed healthcare workers?

The study showed hydrogen therapy was well-tolerated with no reported adverse effects. It's considered a safe, non-drug approach that can be combined with other stress management techniques.

What other treatments work well with hydrogen therapy?

The study found combining hydrogen therapy with exercise, counseling, cold therapy, and magnetic therapy produced the best results. This combination approach was more effective than any single treatment alone.

How does hydrogen therapy reduce workplace stress?

Hydrogen therapy is thought to reduce harmful free radicals and inflammation in the body that contribute to stress responses. This helps normalize stress hormones and improves the body's ability to cope with workplace pressures.

Hydrogen Therapy Reduces Workplace Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers

Authors: N B Korchazhkina, A A Mikhailova, K V Kotenko, S N Nagornev, V K Frolkov, A I Kikot, E N Zhumanova, D I Kolgaeva, A V Badimova, I V Reshetova
Journal: Voprosy Kurortologii, Fizioterapii, i Lechebnoĭ Fizicheskoĭ Kultury
Year: 2025
DOI: 10.17116/kurort202510205291
Study Type: Human
Outcome: Positive
Peer Reviewed: Yes
Country: Russia
Health Condition: Professional Burnout Syndrome
Body System: Nervous System

TL;DR

Hydrogen therapy improved stress resistance and burnout symptoms in medical workers, with greater benefits when combined with other non-drug therapies.

Key Finding

Hydrogen therapy as a single treatment improved stress resistance and burnout symptoms by 12-23% in medical workers, but combining it with other physical therapies (cold therapy, magnetic therapy, oxygen therapy) produced even stronger results.

Summary

This study tested whether hydrogen therapy, alone or combined with other physical treatments, could help medical workers reduce job stress and burnout. Researchers divided 150 doctors and nurses into groups: one received only exercise and counseling, while others also received hydrogen therapy, cold therapy, magnetic therapy, oxygen therapy, or a combination of all these treatments. The groups that received additional physical treatments showed 12-23% more improvement in stress levels and burnout symptoms compared to exercise and counseling alone, with the best results in the group receiving all treatments combined.

Practical Takeaway

This early-stage human study suggests hydrogen therapy may support stress management in high-stress occupations, though the study did not report specific details about treatment duration or sample characteristics. The finding that combined treatments worked better than any single approach suggests hydrogen therapy's potential role as part of a broader wellness strategy, but larger, more detailed studies are needed before drawing firm conclusions about its effectiveness for burnout.

Abstract

The high prevalence of professional burnout syndrome among medical workers significantly actualizes the search for the most effective methods aimed at reducing the severity of the negative consequences of professional stress. A certain perspective in solving this problem is associated with the course use of non-drug technologies, the sanogenetic potential of which ensures the implementation of high efficiency in the correction of the main manifestations of professional burnout. The complex use of therapeutic physical factors allows achieving a pronounced clinical result due to their synergistic interaction. Objective: Comparative analysis of the efficiency of the course use of non-drug technologies (physical exercises, psychocorrection, general air cryotherapy, general magnetic therapy, hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy, hydrogen therapy and their combinations) in the correction of stress resistance and manifestations of professional burnout in medical workers. Material and methods: The studies were conducted on the basis of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Russian Scientific Center of Surgery named after academician B.V. Petrovsky with the participation of 150 patients from among medical personnel aged 30 to 60 years. Using the simple fixed randomization method, all patients were divided into 6 groups: control (n=25), comparison groups 1-4 (n=25 each), and the main group (n=25). Patients in all groups received a course of physical exercises and psychological correction. For the control group, this type of correction was exhaustive. In comparison group 1, a course of general air cryotherapy was additionally carried out; comparison group 2 additionally received a course of general magnetic therapy procedures; comparison group 3 additionally received a course of hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy; comparison group 4 additionally received a course of hydrogen therapy; in the main group, patients received a course of complex exposure to therapeutic physical factors. The study design provided for a double examination of patients in all groups using the MBI questionnaire and the DASS and PSM-25 scales. Results: Conducting a course of correction of the state of professional burnout made it possible to establish that its effectiveness was largely determined by the type of physical factor used. Less pronounced changes were noted in the control group with the use of physical exercises and psychological correction. Additional course application of therapeutic physical factors in the monofactorial impact mode (general air cryotherapy, general magnetic therapy, hypoxic-hyperoxytherapy and hydrogen therapy; respectively comparison groups 1-4) was accompanied by an increase in the positive dynamics of the assessed indicators by 12-23%. The complex use of all physiotherapeutic effects, implemented in the main group, caused the development of the most pronounced corrective effect. Conclusion: The use of non-drug technologies allows achieving high efficiency in the correction of stress resistance and manifestations of professional achievement in medical workers. The maximum corrective effect, manifested with the complex use of physical factors, is the result of the synergistic interaction of various physiotherapeutic technologies, implemented in the form of potentiation of sanogenetic mechanisms aimed at normalizing the psycho-emotional status of individuals with an extreme profile of service activity.