Kiwi Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen reached out to injured IndyCar talent Rinus Veekay last month to assist in the recovery Veekay had from a horrible bike accident.
Veekay was riding a pushbike after the IndyCar round in Detroit when his handlebars went sideways, and he was tossed to the ground.
The Dutch driver missed the last round at Road America but has returned for this weekend’s race at Mid-Ohio.
He will be racing with eight screws in his left clavicle (collarbone), which broke in the accident.
Van Gisbergen experienced a similar injury earlier this year. He was forced to race with a fractured collarbone and cracked ribs following a mountain biking crash.
To accelerate his recovery time and minimize the pain, van Gisbergen underwent hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) between rounds.
HBOT boosts the body’s self-healing process by providing the human body with ample oxygen levels so it can maximize the efficiency of recovery.
The treatment has patients sit in a chamber pressurized to three times the level of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
It is used by some of the most prominent athletes worldwide, including Connor McDavid and LeBron James.
When van Gisbergen heard about Veekay’s injury, he passed on a message to the Ed Carpenter Racing driver and advised him to try out HBOT.
“I got a message on Instagram from Shane van Gisbergen about hyperbaric oxygen treatments that have really helped his clavicle recover,” VeeKay said.
“He drove eight days after surgery.
“I immediately searched for a clinic that did that, and I did three hours of hyperbaric chambers a day.
“I think it really helped and sped up the recovery process.”
Veekay says he is not 100 per cent healthy yet and believes this weekend will be a physical challenge on his healing body.
However, he spent time on the team simulator since the crash and is raring for a strong result.
“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I am feeling strong.
“I got quite a good range of motion in my left shoulder again. I’ve been on the simulator and just felt great—no distractions from any weird feelings or pain.
“I’m ready to race and ready to win.”