Oxygen Treatment Is Helpful In Treating Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs down the middle of the back.  It sends signal back and forth to your body and brain. When the spinal cord is damaged, these signals get disrupted, failing to reach the brain. This causes back pain, difficulty in walking or paralysis in severe cases. Spinal cord injuries are usually started with a fracture or dislocation of vertebrae, the bone disks which make the spinal cord.  A spinal cord gets injured when pieces of vertebrae, tear into the cord tissue or presses on nerves which carry signals to the brain.

A spinal cord injury should be dealt with immediately, only then it can reduce the long-term effects. Medicines, braces or traction to stabilize the spine and surgery are a few of the treatments used for spinal injuries. Rehabilitation therapy for spinal cord injuries is an essential element in the treatment.

All the spinal cord injuries are incomplete, meaning that some of the nerve connections remain unharmed so they function partially. Patients suffering from such injuries rely on wheelchairs, canes and braces to move around.

Recently, a study indicated that breathing treatments provide a low level of oxygen which may be able to cure certain types of spinal cord injuries. As rehabilitation process is frustrating; a low-oxygen treatment can help patients with spinal cord injuries to some extent.

The oxygen treatment releases a brain chemical named serotonin, which transmits messages from one nerve cell to another. Low oxygen levels release growth factors which repair the nerves and improve their plasticity. The study showed positive responses as they were in a position to walk 33 feet before the oxygen treatment and afterwards an increase in the distance in six minutes by 328 feet was observed.

Bentham Science Publishers is a well-known name in the publishing industry. One of its eBook is “Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Central Nervous System Volume 1” that presents the latest research and clinical studies on the central nervous system (CNS). It covers a range of topics such as the development and pathophysiology of the brain and spinal cord, physiological sites of drug action in the CNS and clinical findings on drugs used to treat CNS defects due to injury or impaired development.