Balancing Life and Medicine

Balancing Life and Medicine: Exploring Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for Holistic Pain Relief

• Dr. DeWayne Baugus • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Can alternative therapies like acupuncture truly rival conventional pain medications in effectiveness? Join us on this enlightening episode of "Balancing Life in Medicine," where we're honored to have Dr. DeWayne Baugus, a licensed acupuncture physician in Florida, share his valuable insights. Broadcasting from his Tulsa, Oklahoma clinic, Dr. Baugus dives into the complexities of treating musculoskeletal pain, particularly low back pain and sciatic nerve pain, using acupuncture and oriental medicine. He emphasizes the critical role of imaging and patient history in crafting tailored treatment plans and discusses how complementary therapies like massage and chiropractic care can enhance the overall healing process.

Dr. Baugus also demystifies acupuncture, addressing common misconceptions and explaining how it can provide pain relief without the adverse side effects of conventional medications. He discusses the sensations patients might experience during treatment and underscores the importance of patient comfort and trust. By combining the best of Eastern and Western medical practices, Dr. Baugus promotes a holistic approach to pain management that aims to restore balance and improve overall well-being. This episode is packed with indispensable advice for anyone seeking natural and effective pain relief solutions. Don’t miss out on this comprehensive discussion that could change the way you approach managing pain.

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Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Thank you for joining us today on Balancing Life in Medicine. I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus, an acupuncture physician, licensed in the state of Florida as a primary care physician. I'm coming to you today from Tulsa, Oklahoma. My wife and I have a clinic here and one of the things that we see quite often here at the clinic is musculoskeletal issues or pain.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Pain management is something that acupuncture and oriental medicine is very familiar with. In fact, a lot of my Western medicine physicians refer to us many times when there's a pain, an issue, even an addiction problem, sometimes from pain medications. I'm getting a lot of referrals I'll make a long story short with the Western medicine world using acupuncture to help manage pain. So there's many types of pain that we work with. I'll go over some familiar ones that are always hot topics Back pain, but not just back pain, usually low back pain, sciatic nerve issues.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Nerve damage will go up the spine. The thoracic and cervical spine areas are also Our spine in general is always a source of some kind of pain at some point in our life, of some kind of pain at some point in her life. So let's dive into what that looks like if you were to come in for a pain management treatment, and I'll start with the beautiful example of sciatic pain low back pain. If you're not familiar with sciatic pain, take a second and just it's safe to do this one. You can Google sciatic pain. I don't always recommend Google, but look up the definition. Just don't get sideways on it, because Google doctors are horrible. If you're a Google doctor, you know to calm yourself down every once in a while when you get out there in left field just Googling everything. But sciatic pain is something that we do treat quite effectively with acupuncture and when a patient comes in they're always asking me because they've sometimes never had acupuncture before does acupuncture help? And I usually respond with well, let's talk about that pain that you have. Let's talk about your sciatic pain. Let's talk about what caused it, because sometimes acupuncture is not the right method, it's not the right approach, or maybe we're referring you out for another therapy, another treatment, something that's more effective.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Understand a lot of us that are trained as far as acupuncture physicians, doctors of oriental medicine at least I can speak for the state I was trained in, which was Florida. We're trained very extensively on Western medicine as well as Eastern medicine. Our job is to fill in the gap whenever there's a problem with your doctor's treatment method or the hospital's treatment method and it just doesn't fall in that space where a patient understands or doesn't feel right for the patient, usually we're the first ones they run to as far as alternative therapies, and our job is to help the patient understand. Yes, your doctor was correct, you do need this scan, this MRI, this x-ray, or you do need physical therapy, or maybe an injection would be good for you. And other times we'd maybe say no, you're at the right place. Acupuncture can help, possibly even massage therapy can help. There's another route we can take to fix this problem or help you with the pain, but that's a large scale.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

So some individuals come in with severe sciatic pain and it's not just because maybe they slept wrong or they did a workout wrong. More of they had a trauma. They were in a car accident, they fell In the wintertime it's always the ice. Patients are falling, slipping on the ice, and they land right on their bumper and that sciatic nerve gets bumped or gets aggravated and they show up here and they go hey, look, can you help? So we'll always, always ask for x-rays or imaging Whenever you come in with a pain like sciatic.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

I want to know everything I possibly can about what's going on. It's going to give me a realistic perspective of can I help, or what to expect the treatments to be able to do for you. What should I plant as far as an expectation in your mind of when things should get better, as well as what kind of exercises, stretches, or maybe even chiropractic, what kind of manipulations, what's the best approach? That's always going to be starting in that imaging. We have to make sure that the body can recover. It's recoverable and doesn't need more extensive work, maybe like a back surgery, some disc work. All those things are what we discuss in that intake.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

So sciatic pain can happen for multiple reasons. It could even come from and the problems as far as nutritional sometimes B12, or we have deficiencies, we're not eating right, we're not giving the body what it needs to maintain itself. So things start to collapse and sometimes that sciatic area is the first one to talk to us and if you've ever had sciatic pain, it doesn't talk, it screams, it's loud, it's obnoxious and it stops us in our tracks. So that first intake, that first consultation if you're coming at me with sciatic pain, I'm going to want to see imaging, and I'm telling you this because you may not be in the Tulsa area, you may be anywhere in the United States, but if you're looking for an acupuncture physician and you have sciatic pain and if you don't ask for imaging and they just tell you that they can help, it doesn't matter. It's time to back out of that one.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

We're trained to look at imaging. We're trained to look at everything across the board. We want to take everything from each medicine that we're trained and apply it to your treatment and what's going to help you get better faster. So imaging, we'll be discussing that. So bring in your MRIs, bring in your x-rays. The other thing is looking at your previous history, and when I say previous history, we're not just talking about sciatic pain, we're talking about any kind of pain in the body now. So if we're getting into cervical pain, if we're getting into that neck area, essentially I'll want that imaging again. Right, step one give me imaging. Tell me what therapies you've received, tell me what you've been through. We want that history. What's worked, what hasn't worked.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Many times with cervical pain or neck pain, which I see a lot of, we see a lot of it because, well, people are cranked down on their cell phones right, their heads are completely bent out of shape or they're laying in bed at night and they're looking at their cell phone and they always come in and say I can't. My pinkies and ring finger are numb and I don't know why. I think there's something wrong with my hand and I'm going no, there's. No, it's not your hand, it's your neck. Now, granted, sometimes there is something wrong with the hand. We smash it, we hit it, there's something, the trauma that happens to it or some family history. Things can pop up like trigger finger, things like that, and we'll evaluate those in that first consultation.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

But understanding that we can treat cervical pain, but we also have to do a background check on it. We have to reverse engineer it so figuring out is it a hand problem or is it a neck problem? And we go into those details. Many times I'll have a patient that comes in and they say I've got terrible hand pain, I've been through therapy, I've got injections. It keeps coming back. I just can't figure out what's going on with my hand. And I'll ask them well, you come in for hand pain, but do you have any imaging? Has anyone ever talked to you about your neck? We have to do an investigation. Sometimes the pinched nerve in the neck causes the hand to go numb or causes muscles to atrophy. In other words, it's not always your hand that's the problem.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

And unfortunately in some spheres of medicine when a patient comes in and they say I've got hand pain, the doctor only looks at the hand. It can happen the same way with foot pain and sciatic issues. Sometimes a patient will have foot pain before they'll ever notice any low back issues or low back pain. So they'll go to a podiatrist and that podiatrist is trained to check out that foot to make sure everything is working in that foot. They'll even create the most extravagant orthotics. They've got these great platforms, they've got all kinds of things that they'll throw in there and sometimes you're paying hundreds of dollars for these orthotics. They've got these great platforms, they've got all kinds of things that they'll throw in there and sometimes you're paying hundreds of dollars for these orthotics just to realize, yeah, it didn't work. And why didn't it work? They? I went to the foot guy. He was the foot doctor. He spent his whole life going to the foot college right. But the problem wasn't in the foot, it was in the low back. No one ever looked at the low back. So that's my job.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

When you come in and you got a pain, I'm going to be reverse engineering. Where's that pain coming from? When did it start? And let's look at it and find the root cause. Many times acupuncture and oriental medicine physicians are looking for the root cause, not just it's an owie, fix it. We wanna know what caused the owie to be a problem in the first place.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

If it's repetitive activity, we have something we call mouse syndrome. Yeah, that's right, that's where you're on your computer mouse, yeah, and that elbow starts to burn and you start to have elbow issues and the neck is cranked sideways and the hand doesn't work and there's a problem and there's pain. And so we start to figure out maybe a more organic or ergonomic I think Ergonomic yeah, we'll use that one Ergonomic way of using that mouse, maybe finding you a new mouse pad, or also maybe setting your desk at different levels. We have those discussions and that will change how your hand works. Or possibly the impingement in your neck will start to back up if the muscles are tightening up. So when it comes to musculoskeletal issues, acupuncture and oriental medicine is great. We will look at the beginning to the end and we try to find that root cause.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

And even if we do find that root cause and there's nothing we can do about it, our job is to refer you to the individual that can help you. In other words, we're physicians and our first oath is to do no harm. Now, for some reason, the healthcare field is taking away the do no harm part, or people are just conveniently forgetting that we're not just here to make money off of you. We're here to be a part of your community. We're here to help our community grow healthier and happier and more educated. And, believe it or not, physicians are educators. Our job is to teach you about your body. How does your body work? Why does it work this way? Why does it work that way? Why does it hurt when I smash my finger with a hammer? Yes, I've had those discussions. We won't get into that. That was another time and another patient, but you kind of get the picture.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Sometimes we're doing something and we don't realize what we're doing is causing us physical pain. It's part of our routine, maybe it's our workout, but my job will be to help you find out what that problem is, how to fix it, how to alleviate it, and there's always the follow-up question if it's not the very first question I get for a patient who's never had acupuncture before and they're in there for pain management and that is does acupuncture hurt? And the answer is well, no, no, it shouldn't Believe it or not. There's a few things that I like to tell the patient before we get started in those treatments. As far as they're in charge of the treatment, now, that is something that I have learned over the years as far as working with individuals who haven't slept for days because they're in pain, they're uncomfortable because they're in pain, they're grouchy, so they're not the best patients that come in. They're hurting, they're suffering, they're struggling, they're uncomfortable because they're in pain, they're grouchy, so they're not the best patients that come in. They're hurting, they're suffering, they're struggling. They're there for help, but also they're sensitive, so they're worried about pain, or maybe they're afraid of pain and they don't want more of it. So when they ask about acupuncture and does it hurt?

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

I like to go through a series of things to let them know that they're in charge of the treatment and why I don't want them to be in pain. So no, the treatment shouldn't hurt you. The needles do have a sensation and that sensation can be dull, achy, heavy or warm. Those are normal and sometimes a little bit of a sticking sensation because we are using pins and the nervous system will respond, but it never should be anything that's excruciating. We're not trying to cover up your original pain by stimulating another area and creating more pain. That's not how acupuncture works. We're not doing that. We're not doing that. What we're doing is we're ensuring that the nervous system responds to us in such a manner that it starts to relax the body and focus on the pain region so that your body can relax, come out of that protective spasm or an inflammation, so we can get blood to circulate around the problem area and help the body get back to a balance what we like to call homeostasis.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

So the patient is always in charge in our clinic. Whenever they sit down and I start working on them, I always have to make sure that they're comfortable and that they're not anxious. So finding a comfortable position or chair or table is always priority what's going to be best for you and your comfort. The other step is that you're relaxed with me, that you trust me and you know that I'm trying to help, I'm not trying to hurt, and that you're in charge of me. You're actually my boss. Now I'm going to get a lot of kickback from this.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Physicians want to be in charge and they want to know better than the patient and they feel that they know better and they're going to force a patient through some, some procedures and situations. That is not how I work. If you've seen any of my previous videos, you'll know that I'm extremely sensitive to emotions and emotional balance, anxiety and fear. So if the patient has fear, if they have anxiety, and I start to work on them, they're going to tense up even more, not to mention if I inflict pain. That means their nervous system is then going to be on the defensive. So you're going to tighten up, you're going to be in fight or flight, your cortisol is going to go through the roof, you're not relaxing. In fact, we might as well throw that whole treatment out the window. So, to answer the big question does acupuncture hurt? No, it should not hurt.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

The sensations that you get from acupuncture the most extreme ones I'm right there with you. The physician that's working with you is going to be right there with you, because they're going to be applying the points and you need to voice your opinion. If this bothers you too much, I need to know so. Tell the physician. This hurts, this doesn't feel right. They're going to remove that. Paint over with and gone. That's the right approach to it.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

Sometimes there's a strong sensation with the needles and that dull, achy, heavy, warm feeling that we discussed earlier. That may be very strong. That's okay. What we're looking for is about 30 to 60 seconds. That sensation should start to diminish. Everything should start to relax. So if you give the points time, if you give the physician time to keep working with you and give those points that maybe are a little bit more active than you expected, maybe more than you imagined, voice that to us, let us know. We're going to keep our eye on that point. Make sure it doesn't hurt you too much. Nine times out of 10, the sensation is calmed down in less than 30 seconds and everything's fine.

Dr. DeWayne Baugus:

So thank you for joining me today talking about musculoskeletal pain pain management. I know you have a lot of questions. There's a lot of things out there that acupuncture can cover and help you with. It's not just limited to sciatic and neck pain. It's pain just about anywhere on the body. We'd love to help you. We'd love to help you get better, naturally, holistically, without all the medications that can cause so many other issues. I'm Dr DeWayne Baugus. This has been Balancing Life in Medicine. I look forward to the next video with you.

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