Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy’s Impact on Stroke Treatment

You deserve to achieve your goals and live a happy and fulfilling life. But when a stroke happens and your life changes, your plans do too… the road to post-stroke recovery can feel impossibly hard.

Rest assured that all is not lost. Aviv Clinics, brought to you by DP World, uses advanced tools and therapies for stroke rehabilitation and research-backed processes that unlock your mind and body’s natural self-healing mechanisms

Learn all about Aviv’s Medical Program which includes hyperbaric oxygen therapy for stroke patients, so you can regain physical vibrancy and emotional well-being. 

“There’s a growing body of medical research that shows hyperbaric medicine can help with the rehabilitation of people suffering from stroke.” – Dr. Zemer Wang, Medical Director of Aviv Clinics. 

What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy? 

In hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), patients breathe 100% pure medical-grade oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Paired with oxygen fluctuations, this process boosts oxygen levels in the body up to 10 times higher than normal and helps unlock the body’s self-healing capabilities. 

Who Can Try HBOT for Stroke Relief? 

Don’t let the idea that the brain has a limited window for improvement stop you from getting the help you need. Stroke survivors at any stage in their recovery can seek treatment with HBOT and other complementary therapies

While many HBOT studies were conducted on people who had 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.

Please understand that not everyone is a candidate for the Aviv Medical Program. Our rigorous assessment process ensures we select the clients who can benefit from the program. Speak with an Aviv Clinics team member to learn if you’re a candidate for our program.

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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, we follow a unique, highly specialized HBOT protocol for stroke that differs from other types of oxygen therapy. We focus on providing a personalized care program aligned with your needs and goals. 

Here’s how our process works: 

  • Aviv uses multiplace oxygen chambers—large treatment suites fitting up to 14 people—rather than small, confining, one-person HBOT chambers.
  • Clients breathe 100% pure oxygen through a mask in a pressurized environment. This process increases the blood oxygen concentration to help deliver oxygen to the cells that need it.
  • Patients follow a specific Aviv protocol where they breathe 100% oxygen with frequent breaks to breathe normal air, which the body then perceives as the trigger for self regeneration. This repeated fluctuation triggers the body into cell repair and regeneration mode.

Cindy Parsons Finds Hope 4 Years After Her Stroke Incident

For Cindy, simple capabilities like combing her hair, driving, and walking unassisted were suddenly stripped away by a stroke. She had been told not to expect more improvement after six months of recovery. Cindy sought the help of Aviv Clinics, and during her assessment, brain scans indicated brain tissue could still be revived.

Watch Cindy’s remarkable stroke recovery story:

Cindy’s personalized Aviv Medical Program included: 

  • 60 daily HBOT sessions
  • Cognitive training
  • Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
  • Strength training 
  • A specialized diet plan

Upon the conclusion of the treatment plan, Cindy can now drive herself, walk without a cane, and talk clearly—activities she thought she would never be able to do again.

Cindy’s post-treatment clinical results show numerous improvements in the following ways: 

  • Skeletal muscle mass increased.
  • Muscular strength improved. 
  • Fall risk dropped.
  • Gait speed and quality improved.
  • Nonverbal memory increased.
  • Information processing speed climbed. 
  • Motor planning improved.

“It didn’t take long at Aviv before I was able to get the courage to try things. And now that fear is 95% gone.” Cindy Parsons, stroke survivor and former Aviv Clinics client.

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

The center’s studies show the powerful potential of HBOT as it:

  • Triggers neuroplasticity—when healthy parts of the brain “rewire” to assist 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.
  • Increases neurocognitive abilities in post-stroke patients. 

An Evidence-Based Treatment Protocol 

Numerous studies continue to show the unique HBOT protocol—available only at Aviv Clinics—makes significant stroke-recovery improvements in people even years after the stroke event.

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Well let these research findings and case studies speak for themselves: 

Watch Keren’s Recovery Story

Upon suffering a stroke, businesswoman and mother Keren Trabelsi sought the help of Aviv. Learn what her program was like and how her brain and body benefited from her personalized health program. 

“[The Aviv Medical Program] brings back your ego, it brings back your self-esteem…it changed my life.” 

 

How Can the Aviv Medical Program Help with Stroke Relief?

Our program is founded on Dr. Efrati’s research. Regaining functions and abilities more than six months post stroke requires working with a diverse medical team of physicians, nurses, and therapists. Aviv Clinics maximizes the expertise of this comprehensive team to offer a high-quality program that meets your needs. 

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

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

How It Works: A 3-Step Process

Aviv Clinics’ approach entails a three-step process: 

  • In-depth Medical Assessment: Our assessment process identifies how much of your brain tissue died from the stroke and how much of it is merely injured—these are areas we want to focus on to help regain your capabilities. We use the most advanced brain imaging tests (e.g., MRI and SPECT) suited to your needs. The Aviv team also conducts physical, cognitive, and neurological tests to evaluate your function in these areas and establish a baseline.
  • Tailored Program: We use your results to develop a personalized therapy plan. This plan can include cognitive and physical training, dietary coaching, and HBOT sessions. A dedicated medical team will walk you through your therapy plan to maximize your body’s healing process.
  • Post-assessment and Evaluation – Measurable Results: After 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.

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, including the following results: 

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

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

Here’s how our program can impact the brain, body, and cells even years after a stroke. 

Benefits for your brain*:

  • Rehabilitation of injured brain tissue, restoring some impacted functions 
  • Increased blood flow in the parts of the brain that may have reduced blood flow due to the stroke 
  • 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 

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

Benefits for your cells*:

  • Strengthened immune system
  • Increase in stem cells (the building blocks of tissue rejuvenation) to multiply and migrate
  • Quantitative and qualitative improvement in mitochondrial biogenesis (the power center of the cell)

*Individual patient results may vary.

“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

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