The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 135

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 135

“Wow! Hello~!”

“This is your first time here, right? Have you ever played futsal before?”

Since most of the people at the soccer academy were energetic, they welcomed the newcomer just like they had with Kim Jiseon.

“May I ask how old you are?”

“I’m twenty-six!”

“Whoa, she’s in her twenties!”

“She’s really young, isn’t she?”

Moreover, this newcomer was particularly young, so she received even more attention.

Almost all the members of the Women’s Soccer Club had registered following their sons like Kim Jiseon, so most were in their 30s, with some in their 40s.

“Are you married? You don’t have children yet, right?”

“How did you find out about us?”

“I brought her~. Take good care of her~!”

The Director brought her?

“A relative?”

“You speak with a Seoul accent? Where are you from?”

“I came from Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province! I’m not married yet! I came down to Busan for work!”

“Oh? Really? What do you do?”

“I’m a Korean Medicine Doctor! I met the Director when she came as a patient!”

“You got caught by her sales pitch?”

“Hehe, I told her to come play sometime, and she actually came.”

At the mention of Korean Medicine Doctor, the members poured out all the questions they had been wanting to ask.

“Wow, you’re a doctor!”

“That’s amazing~!”

“Doctor, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, anything I can answer!”

“I sprained my ankle about 6 months ago and it still hurts. Can I come get treatment?”

“My knee is…”

“My son has had a throat cold for 3 weeks now and it won’t get better…”

“Oh, right now the Director needs to conduct the futsal class! If you come to the clinic, I’ll give you detailed consultations!”

“Oh my, of course we should!”

Lee Ahreum showed no sign of being bothered and consulted the members about their ailments between playing soccer.

And since she told everyone to definitely come to the clinic and that she would treat them, everyone excitedly decided on today’s after-party location.

Kim Jiseon joined them as well.

Maybe if I get acupuncture, my back that hasn’t been getting better for days will improve?

* * *

I received treatment diligently for 2 weeks.

Some people got better quickly, others took longer.

Things like neck and shoulder muscle tension were almost cured on the first day of treatment.

I didn’t mind that disc problems and arthritis would take a long time from the start, as I knew that.

And Kim Jiseon was told it was a muscle problem, so I thought she’d get better quickly, but there was no improvement at all, contrary to expectations.

‘Do I have a disc problem too? Should I get an MRI? When I had an X-ray before, they said it was fine…’

Even while receiving physical therapy, her groin was throbbing, so Kim Jiseon tapped her back.

“Ms. Jiseon, how are you feeling today?”

“Yesterday, it hurt just standing straight at the mart. It’s a little better when I lean against something, but this is serious.”

“Is it similar to the beginning? Or is it better?”

“It seems slightly better maybe…?”

“Oh my, you must be very frustrated. Since you’re working while getting treatment, it’s a bit slow. I’ll consult with the Clinic Director to see if there’s a way to heal faster.”

“That’s fine, it’s okay. I’ll get better as I continue treatment.”

The doctor is still young, isn’t she?

It was interesting to see that she seemed a bit anxious because Kim Jiseon wasn’t healing well.

Kim Jiseon left the clinic tapping her back again today, and went to exercise and work the next day as well.

And then she received a text from Lee Ahreum.

It asked if she could see the Clinic Director together near the end of the session.

[It’s near the mart anyway, so I don’t mind.]

Oh…

I thought the male Korean Medicine Doctor I occasionally saw in the treatment room was the director, but a female director I’d never seen before greeted her with a smile.

There are three Korean Medicine Doctors. Business must be really good.

“Hello, Ms. Kim Jiseon~! Thank you for coming at this time. I’ll take good care of you!”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

Will this person’s treatment be different somehow?

* * *

Although Lee Ahreum had already done it once, I checked the range of motion of her back according to the manual and performed basic physical examinations.

Then I pressed the major muscles from the gluteus to the quadratus lumborum and erector spinae.

Whether they were originally fine or Lee Ahreum had loosened them during treatment, the posterior side was all fine.

“Let’s have you lie on your back.”

But when I had Kim Jiseon lie on her back.

When I pressed the iliopsoas muscle at the Cheonchu acupoint next to her navel and medially inferior to the ASIS (Anterior superior iliac spine).

“Ugh!”

There was an immediate reaction.

“The psoas muscle problem is correct. This muscle goes from the spine to the femur, and also from the pelvis to the femur, supporting the spine. It’s a deep muscle that’s a common cause of lower back pain.”

“Ah, Doctor Ahreum told me the same thing.”

I made the diagnosis right away.

As Lee Ahreum had judged herself, it seemed she hadn’t been able to needle the muscle accurately.

“Clinic Director, did you needle from the front? Or from the back?”

Since it’s deep, you need to use long needles whether inserting from the front or back.

Since it supports the spine from the body’s core, the muscle itself is quite large.

But if you just stab thinking it’s roughly around here? You could cause serious problems if you hit the kidney.

“I did it from the back. I was treating other back muscles at the same time.”

“Did you learn to approach from the back at school too?”

“Yes.”

The Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department professor must have changed, so that’s how she learned.

When I was in school, the professor emphasized needling from the front, so I always treated that way, but after returning to South Korea, Kim Chunsik taught me the formula for safely needling from the back.

Should I call it a school of thought? Preferences differ depending on who you first learned from.

Some Korean Medicine Doctors argue the front is safer, while others say the back is safer.

Either way is fine as long as there are no accidents… and since all the other back muscles need to be approached from behind, it was more convenient to have the patient lie face down and treat everything at once.

“I’ll teach you the posterior approach first.”

Since the opportunity arose, it would be good to teach both methods.

I took out long needles that I don’t usually use much from under the tray.

To needle from behind, you need to use 9cm needles.

If someone is very thin, 6cm needles might reach, but I chose appropriate needles considering Kim Jiseon’s build.

“Find the transverse process of the 3rd lumbar vertebra here and press it. You know how to find it, right? The highest point of the iliac crest is the 4th lumbar vertebra.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Press this transverse process with your hand, then place the needle. The insertion point is in the space below the spinous process of the 4th lumbar vertebra, about 4cm laterally.”

“Oh! Let me take notes for a moment!”

“Of course, adjust the exact centimeters arbitrarily according to each patient.”

Since she has a larger build, Kim Jiseon needed to go slightly more lateral.

I pointed to the location where I could feel the qi stagnation.

“Just insert straight from here. Try it.”

Lee Ahreum pushed the needle straight into the position I had indicated.

Thunk.

And she stopped immediately.

“Did it hit bone?”

“…I think so.”

“Don’t be startled, pull it out about a third and try placing it slightly more laterally. Ms. Jiseon, don’t worry. Even if the needle touches bone, the bone is much stronger so it won’t get injured at all. Since it’s soft iron, it might bend but won’t break, and there’s no problem if you just pull it out.”

“Yes, yes.”

I reassured the patient in case she might worry after hearing the needle hit bone, and watched Lee Ahreum’s hand carefully.

She re-inserted the needle as I instructed.

Swoosh.

This time it pierced accurately into where the qi was stagnated.

“Ms. Jiseon, you’re feeling a tingling sensation, right?”

“Yes! It’s somehow different from all the acupuncture I’ve received so far. From here to here, it feels refreshingly cool!”

“It went in properly. I’ll finish loosening it for you.”

Since I had shown her how to place it, I should give 100% treatment.

I loosened the muscle by pulling out and re-inserting the needle that Lee Ahreum had placed several times.

This should have loosened most of the stiffness where the psoas muscle attaches to the spine.

“Could you lie on your back?”

I should teach the front treatment method too.

“For the front side… try just medial to the ASIS. If you go in attached to the pelvic bone here, there’s nothing but muscle.”

Having treated the psoas muscle this way for 20 years, naturally, this method was much easier for me. If it hits bone, you just move slightly inward, that’s all.

“Oh, it’s tingling!”

As Lee Ahreum placed the needle, Kim Jiseon immediately gave feedback.

“Did it go in well?”

I pulled out the needle and inserted it again to check the needle sensation.

It went in well right away.

“Excellent.”

After praising Lee Ahreum.

“Ms. Jiseon, please try getting up.”

I helped Kim Jiseon sit up.

“Ah, yes.”

“Treatment is finished. Please try walking.”

Perhaps thinking we would do needle retention, Kim Jiseon tilted her head and got up.

But after taking a few steps, she soon realized that her back condition had completely changed.

“Huh?”

“Much more comfortable, right?”

“It doesn’t hurt at all!”

She seemed to immediately feel the psoas muscle releasing.

When the needle goes in nicely into shortened and adhered muscle fibers, it can release like this all at once. After all, Lee Ahreum had already loosened the other surrounding muscles during this time.

“It feels so refreshing!”

Kim Jiseon was delighted and surprised.

“Thank you so much for helping today. It wasn’t scary, was it?”

I asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.

Even if she was an acquaintance, it could be scary to receive deep needle treatment from someone who seemed like a beginner.

“Oh, not at all. Teacher Ahreum has been taking such good care of me all this time. Plus, the Clinic Director has such a complete professional vibe! I wasn’t worried at all~!”

“That’s a relief.”

I grinned.

“You don’t need to worry about your back for a while. Make sure to stretch whenever you have time while working. Of course, since you’ll continue working, it could get worse again if overwork accumulates, right? Come get treatment right away before it gets severe.”

“I’ll do that!”

After explaining future care, we packed up and came outside.

Since we had set aside time specifically for education, everyone else had already left.

“Um, the payment…?”

“Since Ms. Jiseon helped us, we obviously shouldn’t charge you.”

“Oh my, is that really okay?”

Kim Jiseon was visibly delighted.

“Of course.”

“Wow, thank you~!”

She must be happy that her back got better, right? She went outside hopping and bouncing.

“Hmm…”

But is that really a reason to jump with your legs together?

“We practice like that during futsal training!”

Ah, I see.

She must have been uncomfortable because she couldn’t do that movement until now.

I understood and nodded.

“Thank you for helping, Director. I think I couldn’t reach it because I wasn’t inserting deep enough.”

That seemed likely.

If she couldn’t diagnose it, that would be one thing, but not being able to fix it even after identifying it as the psoas muscle probably meant she still lacked the sense of how deep to insert. She’d also be worried about potential danger.

“Of course I should let you know when there’s something difficult! Do it with confidence. As you practice, you’ll develop a feel for the muscles in your hands.”

“Director, you really are amazing…!”

Well, no one can match this friend when it comes to flattery.

Like this, I solved another case.

* * *

Since I had determined that she was fully recovered, Kim Jiseon didn’t come to the Oriental Medicine Clinic after that.

But Lee Ahreum would have continued seeing her at the soccer academy, and I also ran into her once by chance at the mart.

She was very grateful that I treated her back and gave me a piece of gum as a gift.

Coincidentally, it was right there next to the checkout counter.

I was chewing the anti-drowsiness gum I received as a gift while editing lecture materials.

Why did I decide to do this?

I don’t even have time to rest on my days off…

Bzzzz-.

Since my concentration was already broken and I was thinking about Kim Jiseon, I answered the phone as soon as it rang.

– Doctor Han~ How have you been?

It was a call from Park Seseun, who contacted me after a long time.

“Of course! Have you been well too, Ms. Seseun?”

“I’m always the same~. Thanks to you, I’m staying healthy!”

Is this just a courtesy call?

As soon as I thought that.

“It’s nothing major, but my friend wants to get prenatal herbal medicine~. I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor, so I called!”

Park Seseun revealed her purpose.

Prenatal herbal medicine?

This was an uncommon request in modern South Korea.

While many people take postnatal herbal medicine, there’s a strong tendency to avoid taking any medicine during pregnancy.

Korean medicine doctors also don’t particularly recommend it unless it’s for themselves or their wives.

What if, by any chance, a baby is born with deformities or there’s a miscarriage?

The Korean medicine doctor would naturally have excluded dangerous herbal ingredients, so there would be no connection to the herbal medicine, but how could you prove there’s no connection?

The effects of drugs during pregnancy, whether herbal or Western medicine, are not well researched.

Of course, empirically it’s safe.

Many medical texts describe medicines to take before and after childbirth in their gynecology sections, and I too prescribed countless prenatal herbal medicines in the martial arts world.

Not only for treating swelling or morning sickness, but also because it helps with smooth delivery, people actively sought herbal medicine.

All the noble ladies of Sichuan wanted to get prescriptions from me.

“Does she have morning sickness or any discomfort? Is this for taking right before delivery?”

“She wants to take it right before delivery. She has one month left until her due date, and she’s planning a natural birth!”

“Of course I’ll help you. Is it possible for him to visit the clinic directly?”

“Absolutely. Thank you, Clinic Director! I’ll tell my friend to come!”

Our Traditional Medicine Pharmacist said he got a bunch of good deer antler velvet, and now there’s a perfect opportunity to use it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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