Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Stroke Patients Helps Regain Functions

When a stroke happens and life as you once knew it changes, the road to recovery can feel impossibly hard.

But rest assured, all is not lost. Aviv Clinics uses advanced tools and therapies to treat stroke by unlocking your mind and body’s natural regeneration mechanisms. Learn all about Aviv’s protocol, which can include hyperbaric oxygen therapy for stroke patients so you can regain physical vibrancy and emotional well-being.

“Clinical evidence suggests that treatment with a specialized hyperbaric oxygen therapy protocol can induce brain neuroplasticity and improve memory, attention, executive function, information processing, speed, and motor skills in post-stroke patients, even years after the initial stroke.”

Claim your spot in our upcoming stroke webinar.
Recovering After a Stroke: Is it ever too late?

 

What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a type of therapy where patients breathe 100% pure medical-grade oxygen in a pressurized chamber.  This impact boosts oxygen levels in the body up to 20 times higher than normal, helping speed up the body’s self-healing mechanisms. 

How Does Aviv’s Unique HBOT Protocol for Stroke Work? 

When a stroke occurs, some brain tissue dies while other tissue is damaged. HBOT can help trigger the body to self-repair the damaged brain tissue and improve cognitive function after a stroke. 

As part of the Aviv Medical Program, Aviv follows a unique, highly specialized HBOT protocol for stroke that differs from other types of oxygen therapy. Here’s how our process works: 

• Aviv uses multiplace oxygen chambers—large hyperbaric treatment suites that can fit up to 14 people—rather than small, cyindrical on-person HBOT chambers. 

• Clients breathe 100% pure oxygen through a mask in a pressurized environment, increasing the concentration of oxygen in the blood to help deliver oxygen to the cells that need it. This increase in oxygen concentration is known as hyperoxia. 

• Patients follow a specific Aviv protocol where they’re breathing 100% oxygen for 20 minutes and take the mask off for 5 minutes and breathe normal air which the body then perceives as a low-oxygen, hypoxic state. By deceiving the body into believing it is starving for oxygen, this repeated fluctuation triggers the body into cell repair and regeneration mode. 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Stroke Patients: Clear, Proven Research

Recent clinical studies at The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research have evaluated the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for stroke patients suffering from neurological deficiencies. These studies show the powerful potential of HBOT as it:

• Triggers neuroplasticity—when healthy parts of the brain assists injured parts of the brain
• Encourages neurogenesis—the creation of new nerve cells
• Creates new blood vessels for higher blood flow and oxygenation of tissue
• Increase neurocognitive abilities in post-stroke patients 

We’ll let these research findings and case studies do the rest of the talking: 

• “The results indicate that HBOT can lead to significant neurological improvements in post stroke patients even at chronic late stages.” –Dr. Shai Efrati, Founder and Director of The Sagol Center

• “The results illustrate the potential of [HBOT] for improving memory impairments in post stroke patients, even years after the acute event.” –Rahav Boussi-Gross, MA 

• “A 64-year-old woman suffered from left hemiparesis—or weakness in the left side of the body—due to ischemic stroke. She had the stroke two years before coming to our program. We significantly improved the blood flow throughout the brain. This person actually had improvement in their left-sided stroke symptoms two years after the stroke.” –Dr. Mohammad Elamir, MD, FACP 

Who Can Try HBOT for Stroke Relief? 

Stroke survivors at any stage in their recovery timeline can seek treatment with HBOT and other complementary therapies with it. 

Though many HBOT studies have been conducted on patients who have experienced their stroke incident within a three-year timeframe, “Dr. Efrati has seen similar improvement in patients whose brain injuries occurred up to 20 years before.” This refutes “the concept that the brain has a limited window for growth and change.” 

Watch Cindy’s Remarkable Story

Nearly four years after suffering a devastating stroke, Cindy Parsons. was still waiting and experiencing the lasting effects that left her unable to independently perform many daily tasks — until she discovered Aviv Clinics. “It didn’t take long at Aviv before I was able to get the courage to try things. And now, that fear is almost, I’d say 95% gone. I wanted to be able to comb my hair. I wanted to drive. And yes, because of Aviv, I am able to do those things — and it has changed my life.”

How Can the Aviv Medical Program Help with Stroke Relief?

Our program was developed based on Dr. Efrati’s research. Gaining functions and abilities more than six months post stroke requires working with a diverse medical team of physicians, nurses, and therapists. Aviv Clinics leverages its comprehensive team to offer a high-quality program that meets your needs. 

The Aviv Medical Program can combine the following in a customized program to help treat the body and brain after a stroke: 

• Cognitive training 
• Physical training and therapy
• Dietary coaching
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy 

“How can you put a price on relying on your mind?…[The Aviv Medical Program] is a commitment to yourself. It’s a commitment to your health.”  — Keren Trabelsi, stroke survivor and former Aviv Clinics patient

How It Works: A 3-Step Process

Aviv Clinics’ approach entails a three-step process: 

1. In-depth medical assessment: Our assessment process will identify how much of your brain tissue died from the stroke and how much of it is merely injured—these are areas we ultimately want to focus on to help regain your capabilities. We use the most advanced brain imaging tests suited to your needs—perfusion MRI, fMRI, and/or SPECT. The Aviv team also conducts physical, cognitive, and neurological tests to evaluate your function in these areas and establish a baseline.
2. Tailored program: We use your results to develop a personalized, comprehensive therapy plan. This plan can include cognitive and physical training, dietary coaching, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) sessions. HBOT sessions are typically conducted two hours a day, five days a week, for 12 weeks, with additional therapies scheduled based on your recovery needs and goals.
3. Post-assessment and evaluation: At the conclusion of your Aviv Medical Program treatments, you’ll receive a detailed report of your results, including any cognitive and physical changes. We repeat the tests from the initial assessment to measure your improvement and make recommendations for ongoing progress.

Please keep in mind, not everyone will be a candidate for the Aviv Medical Program. Our rigorous assessment process will ensure that we can actually help you in a way that elevates the quality of your life. 

Learn if you qualify for our program

 

What Benefits Can Stroke Survivors Achieve with HBOT?

When combined with personalized cognitive, physical, and nutritional therapies, HBOT as a part of your stroke regimen may produce impressive outcomes, even years after a stroke: 

• Improved speech and ability to read/write
• Restored motor function, even with paresis
• Return to independence in performing many activities of daily living

Many of our clients report the biggest benefit is simply not being “a burden” on their loved ones.

Here is the full breakdown of how our program can impact the brain, body, and cells even years after suffering a stroke. 

Benefits for your brain*:

• Rejuvenation of injured brain tissue, restoring some impacted functions 
• Increased blood flow in the parts of the brain associated with sensation, memory, vision, and attention
• New stem cells and blood vessels in the brain (angiogenesis)
• Improved psychomotor function (the combination of precise motor responses and cognitive problem-solving abilities)

• Triggered neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to adapt/react in response to injury or disease) in injured parts of the brain
• Triggered neurogenesis (neuronal, or nerve cell) regeneration that occurs in the brain.
• Improved overall quality of life 

*Individual patient results may vary.

Benefits for your body*:

• Better physical performance: mobility, fitness, strength, coordination, balance, gait
• Improved NIHSS (neurological motor function score), ADL (activities of daily living score), and EQ-5D (quality of life score)
• Boosted power and stamina
• Reduced pain (strong anti-inflammatory effect)
• Improved sleep quality
• Improved sexual performance 

*Individual patient results may vary.

Benefits for your cells*:

• Strengthened immune system
• Encouragement for stem cells (the building blocks of tissue rejuvenation) to multiply and migrate
• Lengthened telomeres (the protective caps at the end of each strand of DNA) associated with extending our biological clock
• Reduced senescent cells (known to contribute to many age-related diseases)
• Increased mitochondrial function (the power center of the cell)

*Individual patient results may vary.

Speak with an Aviv team member to learn if you’re a candidate for our program