A competent doctor can cure everything - Chapter 72

‘Today’s opening match is insane, really!’

The college student was watching the game with her palms sweating.

Blue Whales vs. White Stone.

These weren’t the teams that the media had high expectations for, but the two teams had been having an exhilarating back-and-forth from the first set.

Jeong Ho-jeong was, of course, doing great.

Even Emma, the foreign player who had been criticized by some officials, was soaring.

Especially, Ji Young-sook had already blocked several balls with her excellent blocking.

‘What happened during the offseason?’

Did they go into some kind of intense training or meditation retreat?

White Stone may have a star-studded lineup, thanks to the club’s financial strength,

but Blue Whales were holding their own with excellent play.

However, the game was gradually tilting in favor of White Stone.

The crowd soon began to notice something unusual.

‘It seems like Blue Whales’ setter is in bad shape.’

Setter Kim Yul’s form was awkward.

She was playing with her neck almost immobile.

A setter’s role is crucial for setting up attacks for the team’s attackers.

It was critical for the setter not to be able to move their neck.

“Do you think Kim Yul’s neck is stiff?”

“Oh no… it’s like driving on the highway with the side mirror folded.”

“So that’s why So Min was about to go in for her earlier.”

Kim Yul seemed to be getting worse, wincing in pain even with small movements.

People generally thought that the outcome of the first set had already been decided.

With a setter like that, there was no way they could win.

As time went on, it was clear the game was turning against the Blue Whales.

However, there was something unexpected.

The Blue Whales stubbornly kept up with the opposing team.

Whenever they gave up a point, they took one back. If they lost a point, they regained it.

This pattern repeated, and eventually, they exceeded the 25-point mark, which was the winning score for the set.

“An opening match that goes to deuce!”

The mental toughness of the Blue Whales was enough to make anyone watching feel moved.

And the crowd soon realized why the Blue Whales were enduring so fiercely.

“The players… they’re holding out until So Min comes back.”

There was a powerful emotional energy in that scene.

Before long, everyone was united in hoping for So Min’s return.

“So Min! Hurry!”

So, when So Min finally reappeared on the court, it was no surprise that even people who weren’t fans of the Blue Whales clapped in support.

“Oh! So Min is back.”

“Is she okay now?”

She certainly looked much better than before.

Above all, her clear, determined gaze.

There was a strong will and resolve in her eyes.

“Was that the same person who collapsed earlier?”

Everyone was that amazed.

The most surprising thing was that So Min herself felt the same way.

“My head feels clear and refreshed.”

Although the tension hadn’t completely disappeared, it (The medicine) seemed to have given her just the right amount of energy and focus.

With So Min back on the court, the Blue Whales, relieved, allowed a two-point difference and ultimately lost the first set.

The first set, which had dragged on for over 30 minutes, ended, and a 3-minute timeout was called.

Coach Han Mi-young approached and placed a hand on So Min’s shoulder.

“So Min, do you think you can play in the second set?”

“Yes, coach!”

Starting setter Kim Yul also came over to So Min.

She was holding her neck in pain and breathing heavily.

“So Min, please. Go get treated by Dr. Lee Seon-Joon and I’ll sub out.”

“Unni, don’t push yourself. Take it slow, and rest. A stiff neck won’t go away immediately.”

“But you’re not feeling well either…”

Kim Yul said worriedly, and So Min answered briskly.

“Sometimes, you just have to test the length.”

* * *

After So Min left, I stayed in the players’ lounge, waiting for Kim Yul.

At that moment, a Blue Whales staff member approached with something in hand.

“Doctor, please change into this.”

The staff member handed me a Blue Whales staff uniform.

It was the same design as the one worn by the coach, coaches, and athletic trainers.

But I’m not officially affiliated with the Blue Whales… Is it okay for me to wear this?

“Is it okay for me to wear this?”

“Since you’ll be watching the game from the bench anyway, this will be more comfortable than casual clothes.”

When I changed into the team uniform, the staff member was impressed.

“Wow, that looks great on you! But you don’t look like a doctor, more like a volleyball player. Maybe because you’re tall?”

I also looked at myself curiously.

The feeling was different. It’s just a uniform, but I felt a sense of belonging.

I guess that’s why uniforms exist.

As I was thinking this, the staff sighed and said,

“Kim Yul will be coming here soon.”

“Does that mean the first set is over?”

If Kim Yul was coming, it probably meant that the first set had ended with the Blue Whales losing.

“Doctor, to be honest, I don’t know how long So Min can hold out. We need Yul to recover soon. We’ve tried everything to relieve her stiff neck, but nothing seems to work.”

It seems like the staff wasn’t placing too much hope on So Min.

The staff spoke earnestly.

“I’m sorry to put this pressure on you, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that today’s game depends on you, Doctor Lee. Please, we’re counting on you.”

A short while later, Kim Yul entered the players’ lounge.

Kim Yul had never been seriously injured before, so we hadn’t had long conversations.

Today, though, she seemed quite serious and quiet.

She was the type to endure pain without complaining.

I first asked her about her CC (Chief Complaint) and O/S (Onset of symptoms).

“I think I pulled a muscle in my right neck while stretching. My neck and shoulder are hurting. It’s especially painful when I turn my neck to the right.”

The muscles she mentioned, the neck and shoulder pain, were likely the trapezius and rhomboid muscles.

I noted that in my mind and asked the next question.

“On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain imaginable, what would you rate your pain?”

“Um… 8 when I move.”

An 8 means it was painful enough that most people would be rolling around in agony.

For her to push through and play in that condition was admirable.

I had her move her neck and shoulders to assess her ROM (Range of Motion).

It was limited due to the pain.

“I can’t move. It hurts too much, and my right arm is also going numb.”

When she mentioned the numbness in her arm, I suspected a neck disc issue.

“Has your neck ever hurt like this before? Did you ever get diagnosed with a disc issue?”

“I’ve had occasional neck pain before. I had an exam not long ago, and they told me it wasn’t a disc problem.”

Just to be sure, I decided to perform a Spurling Test, which is used to diagnose neck disc issues.

This test involves pressing the head downward to compress the cervical spine, putting the discs under more pressure.

However… the test result came back negative.

There was radiating pain in her upper limbs, but it was different from the type of radiating pain associated with a disc issue.

‘If it were a disc problem, the pain should follow the path of the compressed nerve roots, but Kim Yul is only complaining of vague arm numbness.’

There were no other symptoms like muscle weakness or sensory loss, which are also common in disc issues.

It seems like, as Kim Yul said, it’s not a neck disc issue.

‘This is strange.’

Normally, when someone says their neck is stiff, it refers to “myofascial pain syndrome,” where the muscles are temporarily tensed.

Typically, the sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae muscles are involved.

However, when I applied pressure to these areas to check for tenderness, I didn’t find anything significant.

Moreover, the trapezius and rhomboid muscles, which she mentioned were painful, didn’t feel particularly tight.

“AT, did you perform the MET (Muscle Energy Technique) focusing on the sternocleidomastoid, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae muscles?”

“Yes. It usually works, but today it didn’t seem to help at all.”

“Did Kim Yul not experience any improvement after the MET?”

“Honestly, no. It was the same.”

The MET technique is a form of manual therapy. It’s effective for relaxing or strengthening muscles.

It’s unusual that there was no response to the MET technique at all.

“I don’t think this is just a simple muscle strain.”

“Really? Then what do you think it could be?”

“There’s a muscle I suspect, but I’ll need to check. Please lie flat on your back and take a deep breath.”

“Breathe?”

Kim Yul was confused by the unexpected instruction to breathe, even though I said I wanted to check her muscles.

Despite her surprise, she followed my instructions and lay down without a word.

I then asked her to turn her head to the side while lying on her back, facing the ceiling.

‘Then, a rope-like muscle will protrude diagonally along the side of the neck.’

This is the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM), also known as the neck muscle.

However, the muscle I’m aiming to palpate isn’t the SCM.

If you move past the middle of the SCM and go toward the back, you’ll find the middle part of the “levator scapulae” muscle.

I placed my thumb on the levator scapulae and gave Kim Yul a command.

“Try to breathe as if you’re opening up your chest.”

The levator scapulae is also called the scalene muscle, as it attaches to the ribs (costae).

Therefore, when you breathe, the levator scapulae helps lift the ribs to expand the chest.

If the muscle is normal, you can feel movement when breathing, but if it’s in a tense state…

‘!’

Despite Kim Yul’s deep breaths, my thumb remained unmoving.

This indicates that the levator scapulae is severely tense.

When the levator scapulae is tense, it compresses the brachial plexus (the network of nerves around the neck and shoulder), which leads to vague arm numbness.

Especially if the middle part of the levator scapulae is tense, it compresses the dorsal scapular nerve (a nerve that originates from cervical nerve C5, travels through the brachial plexus, and then passes through the levator scapulae, controlling muscles like the levator scapulae and rhomboids in the neck and inner scapula), which can cause pain in the trapezius and rhomboid muscles.

“I’m going to press on the levator scapulae; it might hurt a bit.”

After warning Kim Yul, I applied pressure with my thumb.

“Ah!!”

I found the cause.

When I palpated the left and right levator scapulae, there was significant tenderness, especially on the right side.

The tense levator scapulae is pressing on the nerve.

This is a similar phenomenon to when the median nerve was compressed in the wrist of the patient Park Seok-jin during rehab.

The difference is that in that case, it was the median nerve in the wrist, but now it’s the dorsal scapular nerve in the neck.

‘And wrist tunnel syndrome is a long-term condition caused by overuse of the wrist, which takes a long time to treat.’

However, nerve compression caused by muscle tension dramatically improves as soon as the muscle tension is released.

Now, how should we proceed with the treatment?

Chuna therapy and cupping are also good treatments for the levator scapulae muscle.

‘Given the situation, let’s move quickly.’

I immediately focused on finding the tender point in the levator scapulae and performed a short needling technique.

Short needling (danja) refers to inserting the needle and then quickly removing it after stimulating the area without leaving it in for long.

This technique was something I used back in my intern days with Dongsoo, a little boy from the countryside who didn’t like acupuncture.

As long as you accurately target the muscle, short needling can be very effective.

“It might feel a little tingling.”

The levator scapulae is a muscle that’s quite difficult to needle.

It’s not a superficial muscle, making it hard to find, and the side of the neck has many arteries, veins, and nerves running through it.

‘When needling the levator scapulae, avoid the jugular vein and insert the needle no deeper than 1 cm…’

Carefully, I inserted the needle while avoiding the visible veins.

I placed the needle at the tender point of the levator scapulae to confirm if my diagnosis was correct.

“I felt a tingling sensation, but after that, it feels much better.”

Based on Kim Yul’s feedback, it seems like the needle was correctly placed.

“Try moving your neck once.”

Following my instructions, Kim Yul moved her neck and looked more comfortable.

Her range of motion (ROM) returned almost to normal.

“Wow…!”

The staff watching the process gasped in amazement.

Kim Yul also moved her neck around, unable to hide her surprise.

“The pain is almost gone, and moving is comfortable now.”

“Earlier, even after the massage, nothing helped, but now, just one needle and it’s already better. It’s almost unbelievable.”

Indeed, there was significant improvement.

To relax other nearby muscles, I inserted more needles.

As I waited for the needle to take effect, I reflected on Kim Yul’s future.

‘I have a lot of questions myself.’

I was worried about whether Kim Yul would go back into the game and make things worse.

And also, I wondered… could I predict the result of the match based on what happened with Kim Yul?

As I focused on my curiosity, and fulfilled the necessary conditions for the analysis, I suddenly froze.

‘…!’

The unexpected result took my breath away.