What Researchers Did
Canadian researchers at the University Health Network in Toronto randomized 27 chronic stroke patients to either HBOT combined with exercise and mental imagery rehabilitation, or exercise and mental imagery alone, over 8 weeks.
What They Found
Session attendance, duration, and dropout rates were similar between groups, and no serious adverse events occurred in the HBOT group. The HBOT group showed significant sustained improvement in both objective and self-reported upper limb function at 8 weeks and at 3-month follow-up, while the control group improved on only one objective measure. Between-group differences did not reach statistical significance, likely due to the small sample.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadians living with chronic arm weakness after stroke, this Canadian trial shows that adding HBOT to a structured rehabilitation program is safe and feasible, with encouraging trends toward better arm function recovery.
Canadian Relevance
This study was conducted at a major Canadian research hospital, making its findings directly applicable to Canadian stroke rehabilitation programs. It also used bilingual outcome measures (French and English), reflecting Canadian context.
Study Limitations
With only 27 participants, the study was too small to detect statistically significant between-group differences; a larger Canadian trial would be needed to confirm efficacy.