Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Cerebral Palsy

Background and How the Search Began

Hi there, Cerebral Palsy warrior, my name is Hitekani Bilankulu and I'm 23 years of age.

In the early 2000s my mother experienced enormous complications during labour while giving birth to me. This caused blockages in my blood vessels leading to disrupted blood circulation and oxygenation to the brain at the neonatal/developmental stage which all resulted to a diagnosis of spastic cerebral palsy which is a neurological condition that affects movement, muscle coordination and posture.

In my case, the damage was mostly on the right hemisphere of my brain which led to the muscles on my left side being affected. This included my facial muscles and tongue muscles on the left, the left vocal cord and my left hand being spastic. On the right side, the muscles on my right hip and the oblique muscles were affected, changing my posture, gait and balance. This combination led to difficulty in speaking, walking and using my left hand. Severe spasticity (involuntary muscle contractions) whenever I tried engaging in actions that my brain didn't know how to execute, led to significant impairment in different areas of my life such as emotionally, socially and at school.

One day in 2019 I experienced a challenge in school because of my condition - I was so frustrated that I began searching for ways to get rid of it. That's when I first came across hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I took it lightly until 2022 when I was doing my second year at university. I then started doing intensive research on the effectiveness of mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cerebral palsy and what I found was very conflicting or rather frustrating.

There was so much debate and controversy on the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cerebral palsy, online. Some medical professionals claim that it's a total gimmick and has no effect whatsoever on cerebral palsy, this was more directed towards the mild hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Mild HBOT uses lower pressure, between 1.2ata and 1.7ata. Other research papers stated that it does improve most symptoms of cerebral palsy such as spasticity (which was one of my biggest concerns), and motor control. This controversy and ongoing debate made it very difficult for me to make an informed decision as I was skeptical about investing my money and time into something that has no clear conclusion on its effect.

Starting Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments

As I continued with my research, I came across personal testimonials of individuals with cerebral palsy who tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy for themselves and saw improvements. This was my biggest motivation to start this therapy despite the ‘scientific’ controversy.

I had my very first session of mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Rosalind Road Therapy Center with Julia Hastie, in April 2025. It was an hour long and after the session I did not experience much - just a boost in energy. I booked another 20 sessions, on alternating days. After a few sessions the HBOT practitioner (Julia) saw that I was comfortable in the chamber and we decided to increase the duration from 60mins to 90mins with some sessions going as long as 120minutes.

First 10 sessions

After every session (of the first 10) I would get hyper-stimulated and my symptoms would seem like they were getting worse, especially the involuntary muscle contractions. After those sessions, it was so difficult to walk I would sometimes pause on the road for a while - it was as if my brain didn't have any memory of how to move my legs.I believe this was because the oxygen was stimulating the damaged cells in the brain and forcing them to be active. Since they were damaged, what I was actually experiencing was the expression of that damage. It was as if the therapy was waking up parts of my brain that had been inactive or compensating poorly, and by pushing them to function again, their deficits were suddenly more visible. This aggravation would settle after a day or two. This phase was incredibly challenging, but looking back, I believe it was part of a deeper neurological reawakening - messy and disorienting at first, but necessary for real recovery to begin.

From session 15-42

After the first 15 sessions, the post-session feeling of flare-ups of symptoms and hyperstimulation was gone. This was such a positive thing to experience because it was an indication that the first stage of healing was done and progress was being made. Walking was more comfortable, with way less spasticity than before.

In the past, when I looked at my full self in a mirror, I would startle, and this improved a lot after 15 sessions. I don't know if other people with cerebral palsy can relate but my brain could not handle seeing a reflection of myself in a mirror- it would literally make me jump and amplify the spasticity. This made me avoid mirrors. Or, whenever I was forced to deal with a mirror, I would just close my eyes or use my hand to block my eyes. According to research this was because of how the brain processes visual input and body awareness.

Cerebral Palsy, Sensory Integration and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

In people with cerebral palsy, especially those with sensory integration difficulties, the brain often has trouble combining visual information with internal body perception (also called proprioception). This integration is what allows most people to recognize themselves in a mirror without confusion or stress. But in Cerebral Palsy, due to early brain injury or abnormal development, the neural pathways responsible for multisensory processing can be disrupted.

This means the brain may not fully “trust” or understand what it’s seeing especially when it comes to your own moving body. So, when I looked in the mirror and saw my reflection, my brain would treat it like a confusing or threatening stimulus. It would trigger a startle reflex, cause a spike in muscle tone, and send my spasticity through the roof, it wasn’t just uncomfortable, it was a physical stress response.

So, when I started being able to look at myself in the mirror without flinching, without spasticity taking over, it felt like something had shifted deep inside my brain. It wasn’t just about mirror tolerance, it was a sign that my brain was becoming more regulated, more capable of integrating visual and body signals. That moment gave me so much reassurance that hyperbaric oxygen therapy wasn’t just helping me feel better … It was literally re-wiring how my brain handled the world around me.

So I started using the mirror as a means of therapy. The more I spent time in front of mirrors, the more tolerance I had. Those pathways in the brain were being successfully rewired and around this time I decided to start combining HBOT with physical therapy, to focus on challenging myself to engage in activities that I found to be most difficult for me

Cerebral Palsy, Spasticity and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Another experience that indicated that the therapy was working, was when I was required to sign and fill in some documents. Previous to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, I would experience the most spasticity in my left hand when I used my right hand to write or perform other duties. But on the day I needed to fill in documents, I experienced minimal to almost zero spasticity on my left hand.This was very exciting and served as further motivation for me to continue with the therapy.

Cerebral Palsy, Muscle Coordination and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

I was now calmer and the oxygen therapy was no longer aggravating me. I decided to start doing exercises and stretches as a form of physical therapy. I did some before hyperbaric oxygen, some inside the chamber and some were done after. I was specifically focusing on forcing myself to do the things that I had difficulty doing, to encourage improvement in those areas.

I was mesmerized at how my brain would quickly grasp and learn new movements and patterns compared to before hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These exercises included stretching for the bending muscles and strength training for the weak muscles. I also did vocal exercises.I had done most of these exercises before but they were not effective; combining them with hyperbaric oxygen therapy increased the effectiveness of these physiotherapy exercises by 90%, if I do say so myself, using my own math. From this I can confirm from personal experience that mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy does increase neuroplasticity (which is the brain's ability to rewire, reorganize and learn new patterns in response to stimulation) in adults AND children with cerebral palsy.

Another thing that I did to complement the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on my brain was to eat a brain friendly diet which included omega 3 fatty acids, lion's mane mushrooms and other anti-inflammatory and antioxidants rich foods and supplements.

According to both research and my personal experience, combining hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with physiotherapy is one of the most effective ways to improve motor skills and overall symptoms of cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy, Healing the Brain and Neuroplasticity

HBOT acts like a fertilizer for the brain, helping it enter a neuroplastic or peak learning state. But it’s the physical exercises that establish and reinforce the new neural connections. The brain has the capacity to heal, but it must be taught how to use the muscles effectively. After all, even people born with healthy brains must learn how to walk, grasp objects, and coordinate movement. In the same way, once HBOT enhances brain function, it's up to you to guide that progress, teaching your brain what you want it to do. Take note that neuroplasticity is responsive not passive - You have to actively create the conditions for change and you are the architect of how far that progress goes.

Where are we now? August 2025

So, where am I today? Well, today I'm still working hard and taking advantage of the boost in neuroplasticity by pushing myself to engage in difficult tasks like walking and standing straight. I continue to see improvements and changes in my motor functioning. I must say, though, this is not the easiest journey… it’s very challenging. I'm like a small baby learning how to walk properly and trying to develop or rather refine my gross and fine motor skills but with the brain of an adult. Neuroplasticity is possible at all ages, but it becomes more difficult with time. In childhood, it's like molding soft clay; flexible, responsive, and quick to take shape and In adulthood, it’s more like metal it can be reshaped, but only under the right conditions, with consistent effort, and with help from external tools but requiring more patience, persistence, and effort.

That’s where Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy(HBOT) comes in. By increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain, HBOT creates a more supportive environment for healing and neural regeneration. In a way, it acts like the heat needed to forge the metal making the metal(brain) more responsive to change and more capable of forming new connections.

When combined with focused physiotherapy, it gives the body and brain the best possible chance to rewire, recover, and grow stronger even later in life. Every small improvement feels like a major victory, and while the process is slow, it’s also deeply rewarding.

In conclusion I would like to say that if you’re someone living with cerebral palsy and you’re feeling uncertain because of the mixed research or the lack of guarantees I understand. I’ve read the studies, I’ve had the doubts, and I’ve felt the frustration of not knowing what will or won’t work. But I can speak from experience when I say this: despite the challenges, the effort is worth it. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, combined with physiotherapy and a relentless drive to keep pushing forward, has made a real difference in my life. Progress might be slow, and it might not look the same for everyone, but the possibility of improvement is real. Neuroplasticity doesn’t vanish with age; it just asks for more from us. So, if there’s a chance even a small one to create change, I believe it’s worth taking.

You’re not alone in this, and you’re more capable than you think.