There are many “hot topics” in the literature that deal with viable therapies for speech and language difficulties.
This page will be devoted to research reviews on the various efficaciy of treatment methods that may be promulgated by those within the field of speech language pathology and those who are not experts in the field of speech and language rehabilitation, nor certified to practice therapies that pertain to the process of human communication. We hope you will find value from these articles.
Does the Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Chamber Improve the Speech and Cognition of those with Aphasia or Brain Injury? Moshe Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP Senior Speech Language Pathologist and Author
Therapists, family members and spouses of those with apraxia and aphasia want to know whether hyperbaric chambers help with the recovery of physical and speech function. Will they recover the ability to walk, think, read, write, and speak with hyperbaric Oxygen therapy chambers?
This article is a brief review of the literature that addresses this question. It should be helpful to anyone who is on the path of finding best current-day approaches to speech rehabilitation.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A recent Mayo Clinic report entitled: “Can Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improve Recovery from a Stroke by Jerry W. Swanson, M.D. from the Mayo Clinic writes:
“There’s no conclusive evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy — which involves breathing pure oxygen in a special pressurized chamber — improves the outcome of stroke.”
“Some researchers theorize that increasing the supply of oxygen to the parts of the brain affected by stroke may lessen brain swelling, reducing the extent of irreversible brain damage and leading to better outcomes.”
Dr. Swanson also states: “But this has not been proven. Too few people have been studied to say whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy decreases the chance of dying or if it offers other benefits, such as improving the ability to perform everyday tasks.”
In a second study published in 2018 entitled: The Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Functional Impairments Caused by Ischemic Stroke by Emily R. Rosario,1 Stephanie E.
Kaplan,1 Sepehr Khonsari,1 Garrett Vazquez,1Niyant Solanki,1 Melanie Lane,1 Hiriam
Brownell,1 and Sheila S. Rosenberg1; 1Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare, Pomona CA, 255 East Bonita Avenue, Pomona, CA 91767, USA The researchers concluded:
“We also measured balance using the Berg Balance scale but did not observe any changes at any of the testing points throughout the study. The linear trend scores for all the physical domains were all near zero suggesting little to no practice effect.” Other conclusions formed at this time include:
“While research suggests a benefit of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for neurologic injury, controlled clinical trials have not been able to clearly define the benefits.”
In a final study: The Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen on the Mental and Verbal Ability of Stroke Patients By JOHN E. SARNO, M.D.,* HOWARD A. RUSK, M.D.,f LEONARD DILLER, PH.D.,* AND MARTHA T. SARNO, M.A. -Journal of Stroke, Volume 3, January-February 1972.
“Based upon the assumption that oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure (OHP) might improve the verbal and mental function of patients who had suffered vascular infarcts, 32 stroke patients were exposed to such an ambient atmosphere and tested under controlled conditions. The results make it clear that a single exposure to 100% oxygen under two atmospheres of pressure, which is productive of high blood oxygen levels, does not improve the communication and cognitive-perceptual function of these patients.”
“When it came to sensory, cognitive, motor function, and speech, neither the research nor the clinical staff reported behavior changes, positive or negative, in study patients.”
Summary of the Sarno study reports
“Sixteen RBD and 16 LBD patients with post-acute cerebral vascular disease were treated in a hyperbaric chamber for 90 minutes with 100% O2 at 2 atmospheres of pressure. Each subject served as his own control, undergoing testing in the same atmospheric condition with 10.5% Oo. Improvement was measured by a battery of cognitive-perceptual and communication tests.
An analysis of the results revealed a total lack of treatment effect. It is concluded that hyperbaric oxygen, as administered in this study, does not improve intellectual or language function in poststroke patients.”
The authors also report that if there had been any indicators of possible change from Hyperbaric Chamber therapy when it came to communication function, they would have furthered research studies.
SUMMARY
Professional studies lack positive results of improved mental capacity or communication-talking from the use of hyperbaric chambers following a stroke or related brain injury.
Improvement in speech or cognition requires actual behavioral tasks that address the act of speaking such as therapy to address language in aphasia, articulation, and voice in apraxia, or speech rate, and prosody of dysarthria. The investment in time and energy must be focused on these treatment modalities instead of the many “instant fixes” that are promulgated by other interested parties that have no competence in the treatment of stroke, aphasia, and related motor speech and language functions necessary for daily communication.