Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment

I plan to start this new therapy for my son soon.

Please pray for all the 40 sessions to go smoothly and be effective in helping my son. As with any medical treatment, this is not without its risks.

I thought of sharing with you what is HBOT about. Below are some of the information I gathered from the internet.

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What it is....

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) refers to intermittent treatment of the entire body with 100-percent oxygen at greater than normal atmospheric pressure.

This increased pressure, combined with an increase in oxygen to 100 percent, dissolves oxygen in the blood plasma and in all body cells, tissues and fluids at up to 10 times normal concentration

Normally oxygen moves through the body only by way of your red blood cells. With HBOT, the oxygen is pushed into all of the body's fluids--the plasma, lymph, central nervous system fluids, as well as the bones and ligaments--where blood flow is lacking

How it helps...

By using HBOT, additional oxygen can reach the damaged areas and assist tissues and the body to heal faster. Increased oxygen flow enhances the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria, reduces inflammation and allows new blood vessels to grow more rapidly in the affected areas.

Most people have only heard of using a hyperbaric chamber for the "bends," another name for sickness brought on by an air embolism. But many other conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy, head injuries and chronic fatigue have all benefited from HBOT.

One of the scientific research says...

Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy in the Treatment of Cerebral Palsy: A Review and Comparison to Currently Accepted Therapies (published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Volume 12, Number 4, Winter 2007) -
"The 10 studies on the treatment of CP with HBOT presented in Table 3, even though some have a small number of participants, have all demonstrated significant and often impressive improvements compared with what is seen from the majority of known and accepted therapeutic approaches for this condition.

In fact, depending on the age and the severity of the condition of children with CP, the rate of progress (see Table 4) measured with the GMFM can be up to five times higher than the one obtained with intensive physiotherapy (PT) or even after rhizotomy followed by intensive PT.

So far, no recognized approaches in the treatment of CP have shown faster or more impressive positive changes in gross motor function. Moreover, most recognized approaches like PT or rhizotomy do not improve cognition or communication. HBOT has an effect on global function of the brain and, besides the very important changes in motor function, the most common improvements reported by more than 80% of the parents are in cognition and language."


An excerpt from the book "The Synergy of Body/Brain Repair" by Virginia Neubauer:

"Plasticity is one of the most important mechanisms of brain repair and involves the redirection and reeducation of neurons to make new pathways to learn and improve both cognitive and motor skills. Following any brain insult there is a period of plasticity while the brain and body compensate and attempt to overcome and rewire their connections to learn to take over the tasks of the damaged neurons.

In children, plasticity is ongoing, as the brain is in development and still growing new brain cells. Just as babies need to be taught to walk and talk, newly awakened neurons need to be redirected and retrained.

HBOT, the safe, non-invasive use of 100% oxygen under greater than atmospheric pressure, has been clearly proven to reactivate and facilitate dormant, idling, damaged neurons that had been receiving enough oxygen to exist but not enough to function or fire electrically. The reactivation of these cells with HBOT opens up whole new areas of plasticity so that the brain is able to learn or relearn the skills that are necessary for proper function of both the brain, as it relates to cognitive function, and the body as the brain makes new connections for recovery of trunk, limb and muscle movement.

New neurons are like newborn babies. They need direction for their optimal growth and development. This is why a multi-disciplinary approach to brain injury in cerebral palsy and the brain injured child is so crucial to the outcome. The sooner the new neurons can be redirected to take on the tasks of the damaged areas the more promising the prognosis. It is the intensive therapy and strength training that redirect the brain cells when they are reactivated by HBOT to form the necessary pathways for functional recovery. The synergy of the two approaches combined demonstrates a good and positive outcome for the child."

2 comments:

  1. Amir is going to be CS buddy in the chamber :-) yippee!!! Start by showing CS lots of toy Story's character buzz light year, CS will look just like Buzz light year when he wears the hood. Hmmm what does Buzz say " to eternity and away"

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  2. Earlier in the year when we visited them at their old place, my son was ok with putting on hood (for just a few secs). I told him then that it's like a submarine, and a traditional diver's bell/mask/hood thingy. So I'm not too worried about the hood. It's the equalising that I'm concerned and if he wants to shee-shee!

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