The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 372

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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 372

‘Who did he say?’

Sandro froze in place.

Before leaving South Korea, when he last observed at the Seongsuhan Medical Clinic Busan Headquarters, he had practiced responding with all kinds of patients in mind who might visit.

Once he opened his practice in Rome, Chairman Richi would be coming and going first.

The logic was that as the chairman brought his acquaintances, all sorts of unique people could come.

…With such reasoning, Director Han Yewon had prepared him by even considering scenarios where mafia and foreign royalty would visit.

Unfortunately, a cardinal wasn’t among them.

‘I should have thought of it!’

Yesterday when Enrico revealed he was from the Sistine Chapel choir.

I should have anticipated that something like this might happen and prepared myself mentally!

“Oh, it’s an honor to meet you, Your Eminence.”

In his confused state of mind, Sandro barely managed to remember that he shouldn’t keep a patient standing for long.

“Haha, I suddenly came and startled you, Doctor. I’m just an aged servant of the church, what could be special about that.”

Even to his words that blurted out from nervousness, the cardinal responded with a benevolent smile.

“Please come inside. Enrico, you both come in together.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, and…”

“Your Eminence, that person is the director from the Seongsuhan Oriental Medicine Clinic Main Branch who came from South Korea.”

As he was leading Cardinal Lucio and Enrico inside.

Just as he was about to ask if it would be okay to continue conversing in English.

Enrico introduced Director Han Yewon.

It seemed he had already told Cardinal Lucio about the director.

“Would you please examine the condition together? It would be of great help to me as well.”

Before Sandro could even ask for understanding, he naturally invited Director Han Yewon inside with fluent English.

“Then I’ll excuse myself.”

Director Han Yewon naturally entered the examination room and observed from the same position as yesterday.

‘Ah, did he come in a hurry to show off when Doctor Han was here?’

Thinking it wasn’t expectations directed at him, he felt a little less nervous.

He suddenly remembered a story Director Kim Chunsik had once told him.

A doctor who treats patients and makes them bring referral patients after they’re completely cured is merely intermediate level.

A true master prescribes today and makes the patient bring acquaintances tomorrow morning, even before they’ve tried the medicine they prepared.

This was exactly that kind of case.

Enrico’s muscle tension dysphonia couldn’t have been cured already.

He was so moved by Doctor Han’s treatment that he brought even a cardinal.

‘I need to work hard too…!’

His respect for Doctor Han grew even more.

Since she came directly to Rome and helped him like this, he approached the treatment with the mindset that he should follow her example and do better.

Although his nervousness hadn’t completely subsided yet.

All the countless simulations he had run and the practice he had done alone paid off.

Sandro began the consultation familiarly.

“Your Eminence, what brings you here today? What’s bothering you?”

“My back isn’t good. Before, it would just feel stiff after standing for a long time, but lately I feel stiffness from the moment I wake up in the morning.”

“Was there any particular trigger?”

“I think the stress during the conclave period might have had some influence.”

Sandro, who had asked casually, was startled.

Oh, right.

He’s a cardinal, and living in Rome, so naturally he participated in the conclave and would often meet the Pope.

Someone who participated in a historical event like this…!

“Emotional tension greatly affects pain, and sitting for long periods would also be a cause. How long have you had these symptoms?”

“Well… it’s been over 10 years already. I don’t remember exactly, but it was probably around 13 or 14 years ago. My back condition was quite poor, so I even had an MRI.”

Since Cardinal Lucio was over 70, did it start hurting from his mid-50s?

“Was that the last time you had one? What were the imaging findings?”

“No, I had another one two years ago. They said there was stenosis, but not severe enough for surgery.”

“How have you been managing it?”

“They said walking was good, so I take walks for an hour or two each day. I’ve been doing stretches whenever I have time. When the pain was severe, I would visit the hospital for prescriptions or injections.”

Apart from his heart pounding from being conscious of his status as a cardinal, his medical history was quite ordinary.

‘Stay calm!’

Sandro calmly examined Cardinal Lucio.

The cardinal was keeping his back straight even now, and it was the same when standing.

Perhaps thanks to always maintaining proper posture while presiding over various events, structural changes hadn’t occurred yet.

If the MRI didn’t show severe stenosis… it would be fine to view him as a typical elderly patient with age-related muscle stiffness.

“It’s been about 6 months since my last injection. The pain got severe again, so I was thinking of going to the hospital when this friend introduced me to you, Doctor.”

“You came to the right place. Steroid injections quickly reduce pain, but repeated use makes them less effective, and they can strain tissues as muscles and ligaments weaken.”

“I received that warning when I started injection treatment. I was already worried whether it would be okay to get more, since this would be my fourth injection if I went to the hospital.”

“I see. You’ve never tried acupuncture, have you?”

“I heard it involves needles. Hmm… I’m curious about it in many ways.”

Sandro’s mind raced quickly.

It would sound strange if I said I’m dispersing clustered evil energy, right?

‘I don’t even know what to call evil energy. Dirty energy? Wicked energy? It’s like demonic energy, isn’t it?’

Having studied traditional Chinese medicine for so long, it was hard to gauge the average Italian’s prior knowledge.

In the end, Sandro chose the most ordinary words.

“Like this, it’s a treatment method where we insert needles into tense muscles to release the knots.”

Sandro quickly went online and showed him a photo of someone receiving acupuncture on their back.

Coincidentally, there was also a needle case that Manager Seo Inae had left on the desk.

“Oh!”

Sandro briefly demonstrated inserting a needle into the back of his own hand.

Then he found the most tense area on Cardinal Lucio’s arm and demonstrated inserting a needle there.

“It doesn’t hurt much, does it?”

“Yes, it’s amazing. I didn’t even know it went in.”

Fortunately, Cardinal Lucio widened his eyes and smiled.

His curiosity about the new treatment seemed much greater than his fear.

“I’ll treat you well. Since the stenosis has progressed to some degree, short-term improvement may not be quick, but there will definitely be positive changes.”

After that, everything proceeded smoothly.

Sandro skillfully diagnosed the condition, starting with Cardinal Lucio’s lumbar range of motion.

He complained of pain both when bending and straightening his back, and when pressed by hand, the muscle stiffness was immediately apparent.

The overall condition didn’t deviate much from what was expected.

Since there were no special findings in the medical history, he decided on Yeosin-tang as a symptomatic prescription for back pain.

Swoosh.

Once again, Sandro looked back at Director Hanyewon as if seeking approval.

But she guided the two to the treatment room without any additional comments.

The moment Enrico and Cardinal Lucio left the examination room.

Director Hanyewon gave a satisfied smile and raised her thumb.

Sandro repeatedly brushed his chest with his hands several times.

* * *

I massaged Sandro’s shoulders to help him relax.

“It was perfect. You checked all the necessary parts and did well guiding him to visit twice a week or more.”

Unlike Enrico’s symptoms yesterday, the back pain the Cardinal complained of was a very common symptom regardless of nationality or race.

Since he had already observed dozens of cases in South Korea, it was natural.

Sandro had conducted the examination excellently.

Both Cardinal Lucio and Enrico were completely captivated by Sandro.

Perhaps because I was there making him more nervous, Sandro kept fidgeting with his fingers.

“Isn’t there anything more I should have said? I think I was too tense from nervousness.”

“No, you did everything well. If I had to add anything… don’t be scared just because it’s stenosis. If someone is 70 years old, you can assume they have everything – disc problems, stenosis, everything. He had difficulty both bending and straightening, and was in a lot of pain when pressed, right? What he’s suffering from now is mostly muscle rigidity. You could have spoken with more confidence.”

There was nothing medically incorrect.

He said everything he needed to say well.

I mentioned this because he requested feedback.

But since he had no direct experience of successful treatment, he was simply being conservative in estimating the prognosis.

“Ah, is that so?”

If he had entered the examination room with a bent back like Grandmother Heo Sunnam when I first met her, one or two treatments would show almost no effect.

The important skill would be to speak well somehow and keep the treatment going long-term.

But this patient seemed likely to show good effects from acupuncture treatment without problems.

“I didn’t say anything strange, did I?”

I had even prepared him for a wizard visiting to practice for unimaginable situations, and he’s already this nervous!

“As you said yourself, you can think of him as an ordinary 70-year-old patient. You didn’t meet him as a high-ranking clergyman in a church, but as a doctor meeting a patient.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“If you’re clear on this point, there’s nothing different from other patients.”

Well, this will become familiar with time too.

The part where he seems to rely on me too much is concerning, but anyway, in a week I’ll be returning to South Korea whether I like it or not.

If Cardinal Lucio brings referral patients, wouldn’t they be in similar professions?

If he meets about ten cardinals, he’ll get used to it.

“Yes…”

Of course, talking about such things already would only make Sandro’s face turn pale.

I held back my words and showed a benevolent smile similar to Cardinal Lucio’s.

“The physical therapy will be finished soon. Let’s go for treatment.”

Today, like yesterday, I observed the acupuncture treatment as well.

Enrico’s treatment was the same as yesterday since we had done it once before.

“Would it be okay to lie face down? You’ll need to stay for about 20 more minutes.”

“No problem.”

“If it’s difficult, you can lie on your side next time. The prone position is convenient for thoroughly treating both sides of the back, so let’s treat you thoroughly like this today.”

Cardinal Lucio’s back was treated meticulously, pressing again to address the stiffened muscles.

The lumbar erector spinae muscles were severely tense, so needles were inserted in a row following the muscle fibers.

“Are you going to insert that?”

There was a brief moment of surprise when he saw the long needles, much longer than the ones shown in the examination room.

“Haha, the buttocks have thick fat and muscle, don’t they? They need to be at least this long to penetrate properly.”

“Oh, even the buttocks….”

“When I pressed on them, weren’t they stiff together? When the lower back is bad, the surrounding muscles become compensatorily rigid, which puts strain on the back again.”

After hearing the convincing explanation, the Cardinal squeezed his eyes shut.

“It only hurts on the skin when penetrating, and it goes into the muscle slowly, so it won’t hurt that much anyway.”

I added a word to reassure him.

In the end, Sandro succeeded in approaching even the psoas and gluteal muscles with long needles and loosening them up nicely.

“How does the needle sensation feel? Is it bearable?”

“Yes. It seems much better than I worried. It hurts less than an injection? Oh, when that needle just went in, it actually felt refreshing.”

He had just hit a spot where qi and blood were severely blocked.

Even if you’re not as sensitive to qi sensation as I am, muscles in areas where energy is blocked tend to stiffen.

Sandro properly identified the areas that needed treatment through palpation.

“Ah! You felt the de qi sensation. The treatment effect is best when such reactions occur.”

Sandro explained needle sensation and de qi.

But considering what I had mentioned earlier, he showed a bit more confidence.

“The symptoms of leg numbness or pulling are caused by nerve compression due to stenosis, so it may take a little more time. But the heavy, aching pain in your lower back should show a clear difference by tomorrow morning.”

Of course, that still sounded modest to my ears.

Perhaps he learned to be overly humble after coming to South Korea?

Of course, it would be better to see the changes with my own eyes.

“I probably won’t be able to treat as well as Director Kim or the Clinic Director….”

“It’s not a symptom that requires high-level techniques. Just loosening the erector spinae will help.”

Sandro was anxious, but I wasn’t worried at all.

And shortly after.

“Since you’ve been lying face down for a long time, you might temporarily feel stiffer. Please get up slowly and do some simple stretching.”

When the needle retention ended and I hurried over to check his condition.

Cardinal Lucio’s face had already changed.

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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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