What Researchers Did
The authors described one man in his early 50s with a serious neck spinal cord injury after a bicycle accident, who had surgery and then received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) along with rehabilitation.
What They Found
This case report describes a man with a cervical spinal cord injury whose walking and injury grade improved after surgery, 348 HBOT sessions, rehabilitation and electrical muscle stimulation, and whose follow-up MRI showed less cord signal abnormality. Before surgery he had weakness in all four limbs, sensory deficits and an AIS grade B injury. He had a C3-6 discectomy and fusion one day after injury. HBOT began about one week after surgery at 2.0 ATA for 60-minute sessions, with frequency varying over time across two treatment periods. His AIS grade later improved to D, and he progressively recovered the ability to walk.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
This is a single case report with no comparison group, and the patient also had surgery, rehabilitation and electrical stimulation, so the authors state that the effect of HBOT cannot be determined from it.