The body needs oxygen in the blood in order to naturally heal. After a stroke or traumatic brain injury the blood vessels in the brain are damaged hindering the natural healing process to the damaged areas of the brain.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works to improve stroke and TBI patients by repairing and generating new blood vessels to the injured parts of the brain. Once the damaged tissue no longer suffers from the lack of oxygen it can begin to repair the injured neurons, glia cells and extracellular matrix.
In a recent clinical trial studying stroke victims, found patients receiving two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sustained significant neurologic improvements and had a better quality of life following treatment.