As a young boy, Dr. Daniel McHugh was known to rescue injured birds and try to nurse them back to health. He was a high school athlete, and, from his time on the field, he became quite familiar with pain. Always interested in science, exercise, and wellness, Dr. McHugh earned an M.S. in exercise physiology at the University of Louisville. He knew he wanted to go into medicine and saw a future in sports medicine. However, in medical school, he discovered a need in the field of pain medicine.
'People have an inherent fear of pain,” Dr. McHugh explains. 'People aren't quite sure whom to go to for treatment.”
Treating pain presents both an investigative challenge and a holistic aspect. 'There is the tendency to assume pain has one cause, but it's often a puzzle to identify the anatomical source of the pain,” Dr. McHugh says. 'In the past, pain medicine relied on narcotics, but so much has evolved. [Now,] we look at the whole individual.”
When asked what brought him to Nashville, Dr. McHugh has a simple answer: 'One day in my residency at Ohio State, the temperature, with wind chill, was 60 below. It was that day I decided to move south.” Nashville's hospitable climate allows Dr. McHugh and his three children the opportunity to pursue wellness and athletics. 'I guess I set that example,” he adds.
