Ozone Therapy For Chronic Fatigue: Does Research Support “Supercharged” Oxygen?

This article will cover how ozone therapy works for chronic fatigue, the basics of ozone therapy, and some of the research that has examined the efficacy of this complementary therapy specifically for fatigue-associated disorders. First, the basics of chronic fatigue will be covered.

What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

The National Institutes of Health estimates that anywhere between 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans have what is arguably the most perplexing, frustrating and debilitating medical condition: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

Colloquially known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), ME/CFS is often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. It presents with symptoms that far exceed what many people who don’t have the condition associate with it: the overwhelming desire to take a nap.

Chronic fatigue isn’t merely a general lack of energy. Rather, it is an inexplicable constant state of extreme lethargy. If that weren’t bad enough, ME/CFS also typically presents with symptoms that denude one’s quality of life, including:

• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Insomnia
• Brain fog
• Depression
• Headaches

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for ME/CFS. To make matters worse, the mainstream medical paradigm offers little help for those living with the condition. This is because treating chronic fatigue requires a holistic, multi-faceted approach that resolves underlying root causes such as underlying viral, bacterial or parasitic infections that can create cytokine storms in the body. This in turn leads to abnormal autoimmune inflammatory responses.

As a result, many people struggling with chronic fatigue symptoms seek out alternative treatments.

Ozone Therapy For Chronic Fatigue: What Is It?

Thankfully, several alternative and complementary therapies offer hope of managing chronic fatigue symptoms. Ozone therapy is one such modality.

Ozone therapy is an infusion (usually via intravenous route) of a gas that’s naturally a part of the atmosphere on Earth. You can think of ozone as supercharged oxygen. Whereas oxygen contains two atoms, ozone contains three atoms of oxygen bound together. In this case, the phrase, “three is a crowd” can be a good thing.

Receiving an infusion of ozone by a medical professional has been shown to balance the immune system response and improve cellular energy and metabolism. In addition, because of the extra oxygen molecule, ozone therapy helps cells receive more oxygen. When cells receive more oxygen, a holistic cascade of positive health outcomes may result, including improvements in:

• Hormonal balance
• Organ function
• Digestion
• Elimination and detoxification
• Memory
• Overall energy levels

These outcomes, then, may help prevent or manage symptoms of chronic fatigue.

How Does Ozone Therapy Work?

It may seem like ozone therapy sounds like a recent invention. However, its use in medical settings dates back to the mid-20th century. Here’s the theory behind it…

When you think of “oxidation,” what comes to mind? The browning rot of a half-eaten apple left out. The rancidity of oil. In the body, oxidation damages the cells, including DNA and proteins. These associations don’t lend confidence to receiving an infusion that leads to oxidation.

However, oxidation has its good side, too. The process of oxidation doesn’t just kill the good guys like strands of DNA protein and cells. Toxins and pathogens are also destroyed via oxidation pathways.

In a healthy body, the oxidation pathway converts toxins and pathogens into carbon dioxide and water. The eliminatory system then gets rid of these disease-causing compounds. However, the theory behind ozone therapy for chronic fatigue is that some people are deficient in oxygen. Thus, they can’t effectively eliminate toxic substances from the body. It’s this toxic buildup in tissues and organs that may be one of the root causes of ME/CFS.

The truth is that not everybody is a proponent of ozone therapy. There is concern about its effects on the body. However, advocates of the therapy suggest that ozone quickly converts into more stable oxygen molecules that can easily penetrate into the cell and boost cellular energy.

• Take a deeper dive into how ozone therapy works and its benefits here.

What Does The Research Say About Ozone Therapy For Chronic Fatigue?

Umberto Tirelli is one of the leading ozone therapy researchers. Not to be confused with the person of the same name who was a celebrated Hollywood designer for movies such as ″Amadeus″ and ″Once Upon a Time in America,″ Tirelli is the lead scientist of several studies using ozone therapy, including a few that focused on its efficacy on treating chronic fatigue and related conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Named as one of Italy’s top scientists by the medical journal, Plus Biology, Tirelli’s most recent published study was from 2022 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Tirelli and colleagues from the Italian Society of Oxygen Ozone Therapy (SIOOT) at the University of Pavia treated 200 patients who were previously diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Using oxygen-ozone autohemotherapy, which involves removing some of the patients’ blood and then re-infusing it with supplemental ozone, led to 77.5% of patients “experiencing significant ameliorations of fatigue.”

Moreover, the researchers concluded that no patient showed side effects and experienced long-lasting results. In fact, the 155 patients had no discernable symptoms of chronic fatigue three months after the treatment ended.

Tirelli was also the lead scientist in a similar 2019 study of 100 CFS patients published in the Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research. Of the 100 patients, 70 patients showed a significant improvement in symptomatology after receiving ozone therapy.

In 2019, Tirelli and his colleagues used ozone therapy to treat 65 patients with fibromyalgia, another disease with underlying mysterious and complex symptoms. The results, published in the European Review for Medicinal and Pharmacological Sciences, suggested that 70% of the patients experienced at least a 50% improvement in symptoms.

Several other studies support oxygen-ozone therapy for chronic diseases.

Holistic Approaches To Chronic Fatigue

In addition to ozone therapy, there are other modalities that may help manage symptoms, including:

• Visiting a doctor who specializes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Lyme Disease
• NAD+ and CoQ10 supplementation
• Other supplements that support cellular energy production
• Research-supported homeopathic remedies
• Heavy metal chelation therapy

Connect with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome experts at New York Center for Innovative Medicine by calling 1.800.684.8846.