Acupuncture and Conventional Medicine: A Comprehensive Approach to Stroke Recovery

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.

Chapters

• 0:05 Stroke Recovery With Acupuncture
• 10:01 Acupuncture's Role in Stroke Recovery

Transcript

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 0:05

Welcome back to Balancing Life in Medicine. I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, a doctor of oriental medicine licensed out of Florida. I'm a primary care physician for the state. One of the things that I want to talk about today is stroke and stroke recovery. When I was going through medical school, my residency actually covered stroke and rehabilitation. In fact, I worked at a hospital called Health South. It was in Sarasota, Florida, and we specialized in knee, hip and shoulder replacement, organ failure, stroke victims and traumatic brain injury. So I was thrown into that rehabilitation system with some really great professionals. We had a whole team from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners, rns, chiropractors, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, massage therapists and then cool people like me who do acupuncture and oriental medicine, which is usually a lot of needles and people shy away from us because we're the needle people. But it was interesting to go through that rehabilitation training and that process to see exactly where an acupuncture physician fits into your rehabilitation progress or process. One of the things that I got to encounter was the understanding of Western medicine and Eastern medicine and how they differ in the hospital systems. Now, as An acupuncture physician, I'm considered an eastern medicine practitioner, but I'm also trained in western medicine and that's what helped me go through my residency was we're extensively trained, just as medical doctors are. Um, we're extensively trained, just as medical doctors are Learning pathology, endocrinology, internal medicine, musculoskeletal disorders, nervous system disorders, brain function. So we get to learn so many different things as far as Western medicine, and then we have to translate it into or from Chinese medicine and understand how both systems work together, one being 4,000 years old, with tons of research and lots of changes up to the modern times, and what we know in medicine today and what we use on an everyday basis, what you would see at your local hospital.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 2:18

So while going through that residency process, stroke was a big one. Florida has the biggest population of retirees and anywhere else in the nation, so unfortunately, those older age patients have a lot of strokes. There's a lot of problems that come when we get older and stroke was it was one that I seen a lot of traumatic brain injury. There's a lot of veterans in Florida as well. I'm personally a combat vet, so I have a heart for veterans, first responders, service members in general but I just like helping people and that comes with service itself.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 2:56

So while I was in that residency, there were stroke patients, and those stroke patients. Some were fresh, In other words they just had a stroke and they needed immediate care. And an interesting thing that we ran into was Western medicine, or your general practitioners, the neurosurgeons. Before they could get too extensive into their therapies and treatments, they had to make sure that that brain bleed had stopped before they could do anything. But acupuncture could immediately step in and start making differences and changes and helping the body recover.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 3:33

We don't do anything intrusive in the brain so we can help the body start to respond, especially when a stroke affects the nervous system, the motor function. Usually it's always one half of the body and it has a pattern to it. The severity will change, the locations of the bodies affected and we tailored our treatments toward those individuals. So each stroke patient, you're customized for your recovery process. There's not just one protocol, one box thing that we put you in and we all do the same thing. It doesn't work that way.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 4:05

If you're listening to this, you probably know by now that we put you in and we all do the same 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 we can't be treated the same. So with those treatments and those patients coming in, we get to sit down at a big table and discuss the severity of the stroke with a team and that team was, like mentioned before, different specialties and we all had our place within the recovery process and it all depended really on when we got that patient in, if it was a recent stroke or if it was a stroke that had happened months ago or even years previously, we would still take on those tasks and start that recovery process because the body is made to heal.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 4:50

Don't ever give up on your body. Those strokes can be debilitating, not just physically but emotionally. They can really set you back and they can really start to make you question life and what you're doing in life and it can take you to a dark place. But the other side of it is it can take you to a place of someone who wants to overcome obstacles and understanding that there is a tomorrow. Things get better and there's people that are willing and able and they get up every day looking forward to help you.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 5:22

So with those stroke patients I have seen many since I've moved from the Florida area in my residency to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area and those patients come in in different shapes and forms and the big question always comes up is will acupuncture help me recover from my stroke? Is there anything that acupuncture does for someone who's had a stroke? And many times I'm talking to a family member. They're calling in and they want to know about their significant other. They want to know about a family member or a good friend, a neighbor. Either they've heard about us by word of mouth or they've read somewhere online that acupuncture can help strokes. So they're calling to investigate and I love that. I love that conversation. So, with that being said, let's talk about what that looks like.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 6:14

When a stroke patient comes in, I want to know all the information on them. I want to know MRIs, I want to know CT scans, I want to know nerve function tests. I want to know how long it's been since they've been in the recovery process or how long it's been since they've had a stroke. I want to know their internal organ function. I want to know what was damaged and I also want to know what they've recovered after that stroke. Many things can. Let us add up the equation and see how much we're able to recover, how much we're able to help and that gives a realistic expectation of what we can do with acupuncture.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 6:54

Now there's many documented research studies on acupuncture and stroke patients and they're not all the same. Some are different. I've had stroke patients that have come in after two or three years of having a stroke and they've done their whole recovery process. They never had acupuncture before but their body's changing and they don't quite understand. Sometimes there's aches, pains, sometimes they're worried or concerned that another stroke's going to happen and they want to be preventative instead of reaction, you know, reacting to something that after it's happened they just don't want to be there again and that creates a lot of anxiety and fear as well as depression if they're still struggling with recovery of that stroke. So we'll discuss the history that they've had and we'll tailor an acupuncture treatment based on what their body's doing. They're all different and, with that being said, understand each treatment has to be customized, it has to be detail done, we have to sit down, we have to discuss those details and a lot of times patients don't want to discuss those details or maybe it brings up memories or emotions and we try to be very understanding to that and we try to be very understanding to that, as you choose us to be a part of your team in that recovery process, we're going to do our best to be sensitive and understanding, very compassionate, but also realistic.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 8:29

Sometimes I'll have a patient that comes in and maybe acupuncture isn't the next step for them. Maybe they just need another referral to a physical therapist, maybe they need a little bit more focus in their home routine or maybe a little bit extra added to maybe a massage, maybe comfort, maybe relaxation, other types of therapy, and that's something that, being trained in that residency and all those other specialists that were there, I got an idea and an understanding how much can be accomplished with simple tools and when to revisit things, when to restrengthen, and the other thing is when to not give up. One of the biggest obstacles I find with stroke patients is they don't realize how much better they're getting and because, if it's you that you're watching this and listening to this, know that you're with you all the time. So your frustrations are going to be there every day, but friends and family people close to you are seeing you get better. It's such a slow process I mean. The worst example I could say is like watching hair grow. It's going to happen, but the process doesn't happen overnight, it's not immediate.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 9:36

It's a long, long process. For some it's a blessing and it's very short and their body responds great, but others it's a little bit more extensive and we have to take our time with that. We have to be realistic with how long does it take to recover? How long does it take to walk again? How long does it take to use the excuse me the arm again? Or how long does it take to use the arm again? Or how long does it take to learn how to swallow, as just demonstrated?

Dr. DeWayne Baugus: 10:01

Sometimes all those areas are affected, digestion is affected and acupuncture can start to re-stimulate and wake up organ systems. And that is the beauty of combining both medicines is acupuncture brings another tool, a tool that works directly with the body and asks the body to respond, and the body always responds in some way, shape or form. We can't always guarantee that with medications, but when we're stimulating the body itself, we get to see really quick results. So if you have questions about stroke recovery or any of those issues that come along within the recovery process, I would ask you to reach out to us. We're at Maplebrook Acupuncture Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma. You can either go to our website and shoot us an email through there or give us a phone call. I'd love to get on the phone and encourage you to move forward with your healing process. I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, with Balancing Life in Medicine. It's great to see you guys again and I look forward to the next video.