July 2, 2024 • 11 mins
Curious about the transformative power of acupuncture in stroke recovery? Join us as we uncover the profound impact of integrating Eastern and Western medical practices. Drawing from my experience as a primary care physician specializing in oriental medicine, and insights from my residency at Health South in Sarasota, Florida, we discuss how a multidisciplinary team approach can rehabilitate patients with stroke and brain injuries. This episode sheds light on the role acupuncture plays in awakening the body's natural healing processes even when Western medical interventions are delayed, emphasizing the importance of personalized care and emotional resilience in the recovery journey.
We're also honored to host Dr. DeWayne Baugus from Maplebrook Acupuncture Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Baugus shares his expertise on the benefits of combining acupuncture with conventional medicine for stroke recovery. He explains how acupuncture re-stimulates organ systems, leading to quick and natural responses from the body, offering hope and support to those affected by strokes. Tune in to learn how integrating both medical traditions can pave the way for comprehensive and effective recovery, and get personalized advice from Dr. Baugus on moving forward in the healing process.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. DeWayne Baugus (00:05):
Welcome back to Balancing Life in Medicine.
I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, a doctorof oriental medicine licensed
out of Florida.
I'm a primary care physicianfor the state.
One of the things that I wantto talk about today is stroke
and stroke recovery.
When I was going throughmedical school, my residency
(00:26):
actually covered stroke andrehabilitation.
In fact, I worked at a hospitalcalled Health South.
It was in Sarasota, Florida,and we specialized in knee, hip
and shoulder replacement, organfailure, stroke victims and
traumatic brain injury.
So I was thrown into thatrehabilitation system with some
(00:46):
really great professionals.
We had a whole team fromneurosurgeons to nurse
practitioners, rns,chiropractors, physical
therapists, physical therapyassistants, massage therapists
and then cool people like me whodo acupuncture and oriental
medicine, which is usually a lotof needles and people shy away
from us because we're the needlepeople.
(01:08):
But it was interesting to gothrough that rehabilitation
training and that process to seeexactly where an acupuncture
physician fits into yourrehabilitation progress or
process.
One of the things that I got toencounter was the understanding
of Western medicine and Easternmedicine and how they differ in
(01:28):
the hospital systems.
Now, as An acupuncturephysician, I'm considered an
eastern medicine practitioner,but I'm also trained in western
medicine and that's what helpedme go through my residency was
we're extensively trained, justas medical doctors are.
Um, we're extensively trained,just as medical doctors are
Learning pathology,endocrinology, internal medicine
, musculoskeletal disorders,nervous system disorders, brain
(01:51):
function.
So we get to learn so manydifferent things as far as
Western medicine, and then wehave to translate it into or
from Chinese medicine andunderstand how both systems work
together, one being 4,000 yearsold, with tons of research and
lots of changes up to the moderntimes, and what we know in
(02:13):
medicine today and what we useon an everyday basis, what you
would see at your local hospital.
So while going through thatresidency process, stroke was a
big one.
Florida has the biggestpopulation of retirees and
anywhere else in the nation, sounfortunately, those older age
patients have a lot of strokes.
(02:35):
There's a lot of problems thatcome when we get older and
stroke was it was one that Iseen a lot of traumatic brain
injury.
There's a lot of veterans inFlorida as well.
I'm personally a combat vet, soI have a heart for veterans,
first responders, servicemembers in general but I just
like helping people and thatcomes with service itself.
(02:56):
So while I was in that residency, there were stroke patients,
and those stroke patients.
Some were fresh, In other wordsthey just had a stroke and they
needed immediate care.
And an interesting thing thatwe ran into was Western medicine
, or your general practitioners,the neurosurgeons.
Before they could get tooextensive into their therapies
(03:17):
and treatments, they had to makesure that that brain bleed had
stopped before they could doanything.
But acupuncture couldimmediately step in and start
making differences and changesand helping the body recover.
We don't do anything intrusivein the brain so we can help the
body start to respond,especially when a stroke affects
(03:40):
the nervous system, the motorfunction.
Usually it's always one half ofthe body and it has a pattern
to it.
The severity will change, thelocations of the bodies affected
and we tailored our treatmentstoward those individuals.
So each stroke patient, you'recustomized for your recovery
process.
There's not just one protocol,one box thing that we put you in
(04:01):
and we all do the same thing.
It doesn't work that way.
If you're listening to this, youprobably know by now that we
put you in and we all do thesame thing.
It doesn't work that way.
If you're listening to this,you probably know by now that
we're all unique.
We are all different.
We're not identical, so wecan't be treated the same.
So with those treatments andthose patients coming in, we get
to sit down at a big table anddiscuss the severity of the
stroke with a team and that teamwas, like mentioned before,
(04:27):
different specialties and we allhad our place within the
recovery process and it alldepended really on when we got
that patient in, if it was arecent stroke or if it was a
stroke that had happened monthsago or even years previously, we
would still take on those tasksand start that recovery process
(04:48):
because the body is made toheal.
Don't ever give up on your body.
Those strokes can bedebilitating, not just
physically but emotionally.
They can really set you backand they can really start to
make you question life and whatyou're doing in life and it can
take you to a dark place.
But the other side of it is itcan take you to a place of
(05:10):
someone who wants to overcomeobstacles and understanding that
there is a tomorrow.
Things get better and there'speople that are willing and able
and they get up every daylooking forward to help you.
So with those stroke patients Ihave seen many since I've moved
from the Florida area in myresidency to the Tulsa, Oklahoma
(05:31):
area and those patients come inin different shapes and forms
and the big question alwayscomes up is will acupuncture
help me recover from my stroke?
Is there anything thatacupuncture does for someone
who's had a stroke?
And many times I'm talking to afamily member.
They're calling in and theywant to know about their
significant other.
(05:52):
They want to know about afamily member or a good friend,
a neighbor.
Either they've heard about usby word of mouth or they've read
somewhere online thatacupuncture can help strokes.
So they're calling toinvestigate and I love that.
I love that conversation.
So, with that being said, let'stalk about what that looks like
(06:13):
.
When a stroke patient comes in,I want to know all the
information on them.
I want to know MRIs, I want toknow CT scans, I want to know
nerve function tests.
I want to know how long it'sbeen since they've been in the
recovery process or how longit's been since they've had a
stroke.
I want to know their internalorgan function.
I want to know what was damagedand I also want to know what
(06:37):
they've recovered after thatstroke.
Many things can.
Let us add up the equation andsee how much we're able to
recover, how much we're able tohelp and that gives a realistic
expectation of what we can dowith acupuncture.
Now there's many documentedresearch studies on acupuncture
(06:59):
and stroke patients and they'renot all the same.
Some are different.
I've had stroke patients thathave come in after two or three
years of having a stroke andthey've done their whole
recovery process.
They never had acupuncturebefore but their body's changing
and they don't quite understand.
Sometimes there's aches, pains,sometimes they're worried or
(07:21):
concerned that another stroke'sgoing to happen and they want to
be preventative instead ofreaction, you know, reacting to
something that after it'shappened they just don't want to
be there again and that createsa lot of anxiety and fear as
well as depression if they'restill struggling with recovery
of that stroke.
So we'll discuss the historythat they've had and we'll
(07:43):
tailor an acupuncture treatmentbased on what their body's doing
.
They're all different and, withthat being said, understand
each treatment has to becustomized, it has to be detail
done, we have to sit down, wehave to discuss those details
and a lot of times patientsdon't want to discuss those
(08:05):
details or maybe it brings upmemories or emotions and we try
to be very understanding to thatand we try to be very
understanding to that, as youchoose us to be a part of your
(08:25):
team in that recovery process,we're going to do our best to be
sensitive and understanding,very compassionate, but also
realistic.
Sometimes I'll have a patientthat comes in and maybe
acupuncture isn't the next stepfor them.
Maybe they just need anotherreferral to a physical therapist
, maybe they need a little bitmore focus in their home routine
or maybe a little bit extraadded to maybe a massage, maybe
comfort, maybe relaxation, othertypes of therapy, and that's
(08:46):
something that, being trained inthat residency and all those
other specialists that werethere, I got an idea and an
understanding how much can beaccomplished with simple tools
and when to revisit things, whento restrengthen, and the other
thing is when to not give up.
One of the biggest obstacles Ifind with stroke patients is
(09:08):
they don't realize how muchbetter they're getting and
because, if it's you that you'rewatching this and listening to
this, know that you're with youall the time.
So your frustrations are goingto be there every day, but
friends and family people closeto you are seeing you get better
.
It's such a slow process I mean.
(09:28):
The worst example I could sayis like watching hair grow.
It's going to happen, but theprocess doesn't happen overnight
, it's not immediate.
It's a long, long process.
For some it's a blessing andit's very short and their body
responds great, but others it'sa little bit more extensive and
we have to take our time withthat.
We have to be realistic withhow long does it take to recover
(09:50):
?
How long does it take to walkagain?
How long does it take to usethe excuse me the arm again?
Or how long does it take to usethe arm again?
Or how long does it take tolearn how to swallow, as just
demonstrated?
Sometimes all those areas areaffected, digestion is affected
and acupuncture can start tore-stimulate and wake up organ
systems.
And that is the beauty ofcombining both medicines is
(10:15):
acupuncture brings another tool,a tool that works directly with
the body and asks the body torespond, and the body always
responds in some way, shape orform.
We can't always guarantee thatwith medications, but when we're
stimulating the body itself, weget to see really quick results
.
So if you have questions aboutstroke recovery or any of those
(10:37):
issues that come along withinthe recovery process, I would
ask you to reach out to us.
We're at Maplebrook AcupunctureClinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
You can either go to ourwebsite and shoot us an email
through there or give us a phonecall.
I'd love to get on the phoneand encourage you to move
(10:58):
forward with your healingprocess.
I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, withBalancing Life in Medicine.
It's great to see you guysagain and I look forward to the
next video.
Welcome back to Balancing Life in Medicine.
I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, a doctorof oriental medicine licensed
out of Florida.
I'm a primary care physicianfor the state.
One of the things that I wantto talk about today is stroke
and stroke recovery.
When I was going throughmedical school, my residency
(00:26):
actually covered stroke andrehabilitation.
In fact, I worked at a hospitalcalled Health South.
It was in Sarasota, Florida,and we specialized in knee, hip
and shoulder replacement, organfailure, stroke victims and
traumatic brain injury.
So I was thrown into thatrehabilitation system with some
(00:46):
really great professionals.
We had a whole team fromneurosurgeons to nurse
practitioners, rns,chiropractors, physical
therapists, physical therapyassistants, massage therapists
and then cool people like me whodo acupuncture and oriental
medicine, which is usually a lotof needles and people shy away
from us because we're the needlepeople.
(01:08):
But it was interesting to gothrough that rehabilitation
training and that process to seeexactly where an acupuncture
physician fits into yourrehabilitation progress or
process.
One of the things that I got toencounter was the understanding
of Western medicine and Easternmedicine and how they differ in
(01:28):
the hospital systems.
Now, as An acupuncturephysician, I'm considered an
eastern medicine practitioner,but I'm also trained in western
medicine and that's what helpedme go through my residency was
we're extensively trained, justas medical doctors are.
Um, we're extensively trained,just as medical doctors are
Learning pathology,endocrinology, internal medicine
, musculoskeletal disorders,nervous system disorders, brain
(01:51):
function.
So we get to learn so manydifferent things as far as
Western medicine, and then wehave to translate it into or
from Chinese medicine andunderstand how both systems work
together, one being 4,000 yearsold, with tons of research and
lots of changes up to the moderntimes, and what we know in
(02:13):
medicine today and what we useon an everyday basis, what you
would see at your local hospital.
So while going through thatresidency process, stroke was a
big one.
Florida has the biggestpopulation of retirees and
anywhere else in the nation, sounfortunately, those older age
patients have a lot of strokes.
(02:35):
There's a lot of problems thatcome when we get older and
stroke was it was one that Iseen a lot of traumatic brain
injury.
There's a lot of veterans inFlorida as well.
I'm personally a combat vet, soI have a heart for veterans,
first responders, servicemembers in general but I just
like helping people and thatcomes with service itself.
(02:56):
So while I was in that residency, there were stroke patients,
and those stroke patients.
Some were fresh, In other wordsthey just had a stroke and they
needed immediate care.
And an interesting thing thatwe ran into was Western medicine
, or your general practitioners,the neurosurgeons.
Before they could get tooextensive into their therapies
(03:17):
and treatments, they had to makesure that that brain bleed had
stopped before they could doanything.
But acupuncture couldimmediately step in and start
making differences and changesand helping the body recover.
We don't do anything intrusivein the brain so we can help the
body start to respond,especially when a stroke affects
(03:40):
the nervous system, the motorfunction.
Usually it's always one half ofthe body and it has a pattern
to it.
The severity will change, thelocations of the bodies affected
and we tailored our treatmentstoward those individuals.
So each stroke patient, you'recustomized for your recovery
process.
There's not just one protocol,one box thing that we put you in
(04:01):
and we all do the same thing.
It doesn't work that way.
If you're listening to this, youprobably know by now that we
put you in and we all do thesame thing.
It doesn't work that way.
If you're listening to this,you probably know by now that
we're all unique.
We are all different.
We're not identical, so wecan't be treated the same.
So with those treatments andthose patients coming in, we get
to sit down at a big table anddiscuss the severity of the
stroke with a team and that teamwas, like mentioned before,
(04:27):
different specialties and we allhad our place within the
recovery process and it alldepended really on when we got
that patient in, if it was arecent stroke or if it was a
stroke that had happened monthsago or even years previously, we
would still take on those tasksand start that recovery process
(04:48):
because the body is made toheal.
Don't ever give up on your body.
Those strokes can bedebilitating, not just
physically but emotionally.
They can really set you backand they can really start to
make you question life and whatyou're doing in life and it can
take you to a dark place.
But the other side of it is itcan take you to a place of
(05:10):
someone who wants to overcomeobstacles and understanding that
there is a tomorrow.
Things get better and there'speople that are willing and able
and they get up every daylooking forward to help you.
So with those stroke patients Ihave seen many since I've moved
from the Florida area in myresidency to the Tulsa, Oklahoma
(05:31):
area and those patients come inin different shapes and forms
and the big question alwayscomes up is will acupuncture
help me recover from my stroke?
Is there anything thatacupuncture does for someone
who's had a stroke?
And many times I'm talking to afamily member.
They're calling in and theywant to know about their
significant other.
(05:52):
They want to know about afamily member or a good friend,
a neighbor.
Either they've heard about usby word of mouth or they've read
somewhere online thatacupuncture can help strokes.
So they're calling toinvestigate and I love that.
I love that conversation.
So, with that being said, let'stalk about what that looks like
(06:13):
.
When a stroke patient comes in,I want to know all the
information on them.
I want to know MRIs, I want toknow CT scans, I want to know
nerve function tests.
I want to know how long it'sbeen since they've been in the
recovery process or how longit's been since they've had a
stroke.
I want to know their internalorgan function.
I want to know what was damagedand I also want to know what
(06:37):
they've recovered after thatstroke.
Many things can.
Let us add up the equation andsee how much we're able to
recover, how much we're able tohelp and that gives a realistic
expectation of what we can dowith acupuncture.
Now there's many documentedresearch studies on acupuncture
(06:59):
and stroke patients and they'renot all the same.
Some are different.
I've had stroke patients thathave come in after two or three
years of having a stroke andthey've done their whole
recovery process.
They never had acupuncturebefore but their body's changing
and they don't quite understand.
Sometimes there's aches, pains,sometimes they're worried or
(07:21):
concerned that another stroke'sgoing to happen and they want to
be preventative instead ofreaction, you know, reacting to
something that after it'shappened they just don't want to
be there again and that createsa lot of anxiety and fear as
well as depression if they'restill struggling with recovery
of that stroke.
So we'll discuss the historythat they've had and we'll
(07:43):
tailor an acupuncture treatmentbased on what their body's doing
.
They're all different and, withthat being said, understand
each treatment has to becustomized, it has to be detail
done, we have to sit down, wehave to discuss those details
and a lot of times patientsdon't want to discuss those
(08:05):
details or maybe it brings upmemories or emotions and we try
to be very understanding to thatand we try to be very
understanding to that, as youchoose us to be a part of your
(08:25):
team in that recovery process,we're going to do our best to be
sensitive and understanding,very compassionate, but also
realistic.
Sometimes I'll have a patientthat comes in and maybe
acupuncture isn't the next stepfor them.
Maybe they just need anotherreferral to a physical therapist
, maybe they need a little bitmore focus in their home routine
or maybe a little bit extraadded to maybe a massage, maybe
comfort, maybe relaxation, othertypes of therapy, and that's
(08:46):
something that, being trained inthat residency and all those
other specialists that werethere, I got an idea and an
understanding how much can beaccomplished with simple tools
and when to revisit things, whento restrengthen, and the other
thing is when to not give up.
One of the biggest obstacles Ifind with stroke patients is
(09:08):
they don't realize how muchbetter they're getting and
because, if it's you that you'rewatching this and listening to
this, know that you're with youall the time.
So your frustrations are goingto be there every day, but
friends and family people closeto you are seeing you get better
.
It's such a slow process I mean.
(09:28):
The worst example I could sayis like watching hair grow.
It's going to happen, but theprocess doesn't happen overnight
, it's not immediate.
It's a long, long process.
For some it's a blessing andit's very short and their body
responds great, but others it'sa little bit more extensive and
we have to take our time withthat.
We have to be realistic withhow long does it take to recover
(09:50):
?
How long does it take to walkagain?
How long does it take to usethe excuse me the arm again?
Or how long does it take to usethe arm again?
Or how long does it take tolearn how to swallow, as just
demonstrated?
Sometimes all those areas areaffected, digestion is affected
and acupuncture can start tore-stimulate and wake up organ
systems.
And that is the beauty ofcombining both medicines is
(10:15):
acupuncture brings another tool,a tool that works directly with
the body and asks the body torespond, and the body always
responds in some way, shape orform.
We can't always guarantee thatwith medications, but when we're
stimulating the body itself, weget to see really quick results
.
So if you have questions aboutstroke recovery or any of those
(10:37):
issues that come along withinthe recovery process, I would
ask you to reach out to us.
We're at Maplebrook AcupunctureClinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
You can either go to ourwebsite and shoot us an email
through there or give us a phonecall.
I'd love to get on the phoneand encourage you to move
(10:58):
forward with your healingprocess.
I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, withBalancing Life in Medicine.
It's great to see you guysagain and I look forward to the
next video.
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