There are a lot of different therapies that are being tried on patients who have suffered from a brain injury. Hyperbaric treatment for stroke has been one of the treatment options currently being looked at to help stroke patients recover the best that they can after a stroke. HBOT for stroke recovery has shown some promising results, though there are a lot of studies still being performed to see just how effective it is. This article will take a closer look at hyperbaric oxygen therapy for stroke patients and why this could be a great treatment option to consider as part of your overall plan.
Can Oxygen Therapy Heal the Brain?
The brain will typically consume around 20% of your body’s oxygen, but this is the bare minimum required to operate minimal brain cells at any given moment. However, the oxygen levels required for the brain are increased when the brain is trying to recover from an injury like a stroke. The process of neuroplasticity, which is where the brain rebuilds its connections, can require a lot more oxygen. This is where oxygen therapy comes in.
Oxygen therapy offers 100% pure oxygen, which can help speed up this process of neuroplasticity. When used in combination with essential treatment protocols like rehab, oxygen therapy can be essential in helping to heal your brain.
Other Information About Oxygen Therapy and Strokes
A common question that people may have about oxygen therapy is who it can work for. This is a treatment options that stroke patients can take advantage of in any stage of their stroke recovery. You can get this treatment at any point during this timeline, though the most studies completed on this topic were on those in the early stages of stroke recovery.
Oxygen therapy can be particularly useful in helping people improve their movement after a stroke. This improvement can also be seen in stroke patients who have post-stroke paralysis. Some effects of stroke that HBOT can help treat include:
• Renewed use of language
• Increased sensation
• Reversal of paralysis
These are just some areas where people may notice an improvement after their HBOT treatments. Some people may get results even decades after their stroke. This isn’t a miracle cure and there is a lot of research that needs to be done, but the studies that have been completed have shown a great deal of promise.
Oxygen therapy may not work for everyone, but this is a treatment option that is worth considering to improve the effectiveness of your current treatment plan and even potentially speed up the recovery process.
Conclusion
Strokes can be devasting for both the patient and their loved ones. Finding ways to help a patient potentially get the best chances of recovering as much as possible can make a huge difference. With oxygen therapy, there have been promising results when it has been used with other treatment options. The boost in oxygen can improve the effectiveness of other treatments, reducing long-term damage and improving the chance of recovery.
