Rheumatic arthritis

After Su Ziyang finished massaging those middle-aged women, he became an absolute sensation in the village!

People came to Su Ziyang's house for treatment and massage in an endless stream. How could someone who does manual labor all year round not have any ailments? In the few days he stayed at home, Su Ziyang experienced all kinds of pain.

From neck to toes, their entire body is in pain; there's nothing they can't imagine.

After the Lantern Festival, Su Ziyang's father was packing his things to return to the county town. That evening, while he was packing, a woman carrying a child rushed into the house in a panic.

"Auntie?" This woman is the daughter-in-law of Su Ziyang's tenth grandmother, which is also the wife of Su Ziyang's youngest uncle.

"Ziyang, quickly check her out, is her arm dislocated?"

"Dislocation" means a broken joint. Su Ziyang's aunt was holding a little girl with tears streaming down her face.

"Let me see!" Su Ziyang picked up the child and placed him on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Su Ziyang's parents stopped packing and gathered around to watch.

"How did you do that?" Su Ziyang's father asked.

"Hehe!" Su Ziyang's aunt covered her mouth and laughed awkwardly. "She was jumping around on the kang (heated brick bed), and I wasn't watching. She fell off. I just noticed her arm seems to be a little weak!"

"It's okay, it's okay! Let me see. Let me see, brother!" Su Ziyang was very popular with the children in the family, so the little girl stopped crying when she saw Su Ziyang.

"Where does it hurt?" Su Ziyang asked, gently squeezing the little girl's arm.

"This~" the little girl pointed to her elbow in a childish voice.

"Oh, let me see!" Su Ziyang gently touched it and found a protruding Bones below his elbow. "This hurts!?"

"Yes!" The little girl nodded.

"Sigh!" Su Ziyang sighed, and said embarrassedly, "Auntie, it really is dislocated. Um... sigh... I'm good at massage, but I'm not very good at bone setting. Why don't you go to the hospital and get an X-ray? The child is too young; I'm afraid I might damage it!"

Su Ziyang phrased it euphemistically, saying he wasn't very good at it, but in reality, he had absolutely no idea how to do it.

When I was studying massage as an undergraduate, no teacher ever taught me techniques like bone setting or joint repair. I had read some of it in books, but how could I dare to experiment with it casually? What if I damaged it?

"It's alright, I'll get her to the hospital right away!" Su Ziyang's aunt didn't say anything, picked up the child and hurriedly left.

Su Ziyang's parents were busy tidying up the remaining New Year's goods, while Su Ziyang sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) pondering.

People will never discover their own shortcomings until they encounter a field they are not good at.

Although it is true that a person's energy is limited and it is impossible to be proficient in everything, Su Ziyang still wants to learn as much as possible within his capabilities.

After much deliberation, Su Ziyang dialed his master, Mr. Mengfei's, number. "Master!" he thought. "If you need anything, calling your master is always the right thing to do."

"Haha, Xiao Su!" came Mr. Mengfei's slightly accented Mandarin over the phone.

"Master!" Su Ziyang called out again.

"If you need anything, ask your master!" Mr. Mengfei was a master strategist; he could tell what Su Ziyang was going to do just by looking at him.

"I want to learn bone setting and bone setting!" Su Ziyang's voice was pouting, with a hint of coquetry.

"I can't!" Mr. Mengfei was very honest.

"I want to learn bone setting and bone setting!" Su Ziyang repeated on the phone, his tone becoming more forceful.

"I can't, I can't!" Mr. Mengfei emphasized again.

"I want to learn bone setting!!!"

"This kid! He's gone mad! Wait for my news!" Mr. Mengfei muttered a couple of words on the phone before hanging up.

If you beg your master to do something cute and he agrees, then he means he promises to do it; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed.

Su Ziyang is now resorting to shamelessness; who told you to be my master?

After Mr. Mengfei agreed, although things were still far from settled, Su Ziyang's slight sense of frustration caused by his inability to set bones and adjust bone structure instantly dissipated.

Back in the county town, with no more people trying to take advantage of him for free massages, Su Ziyang's life returned to normal.

That day, Su Ziyang was lying in bed Yangyang looking at his phone when a familiar voice suddenly came from the yard.

"Auntie!" Su Ziyang greeted the person as soon as he entered the yard.

This person was none other than Su Wenxian's daughter, who was also the wife of Su Ziyang's uncle. Su Ziyang's aunt was accompanied by another woman, who was about the same age as Su Ziyang's aunt. Su Ziyang noticed that this woman also looked very similar to his aunt.

"Ziyang, this is my sister!" Su Ziyang's aunt introduced her when she saw Su Ziyang staring at her in a daze.

"Aww!" Su Ziyang nodded. "Come inside! Quickly! Mom, my aunt is here."

Hearing Su Ziyang call out, Su Ziyang's mother came out of the house. "Xiaoyun's here! Come in quickly!"

"Sister-in-law!" Xiaoyun, Su Ziyang's aunt, smiled and greeted Su Ziyang's mother.

Su Ziyang's mother was also taken aback when she saw the people behind Xiaoyun, but then she came to her senses and said, "Xiaocai is here too! Come in quickly!"

Su Ziyang's mother ushered the two into the house, placed peanuts, melon seeds, candy, and other treats on the table, and then began to make tea.

"Sister-in-law, don't bother. Hehe! We're here to see Ziyang today!" Xiaoyun chuckled and explained their purpose.

"Something's up, Auntie?" Su Ziyang replied.

"I'm fine. My sister wanted to see you for a checkup. Hehe, I heard from my dad that you were good at treating his frozen shoulder, so I brought my sister here to see if you could treat her too," Xiaoyun explained.

"What's wrong!?" Su Ziyang looked at Xiaoyun's older sister, Xiaocai.

Xiaocai was dressed very warmly, wrapped in several layers, and only took off her gloves, scarf, hat, and a very thick coat when she heard Su Ziyang ask her.

As she was taking off her clothes, Su Ziyang suddenly noticed that Xiaocai's arms seemed unable to straighten, both of them, and her fingers were the same. So when she took off her coat, her movements looked very strange.

"Oh dear, Cai! You're still not better?" Su Ziyang's mother asked, watching Xiaocai's movements.

"No, sister-in-law. Sigh, it's getting worse." Xiaocai spoke in a very soft voice, sounding weak and listless.

"What illness is it?" Su Ziyang asked, seeing that his mother already knew the situation.

"Ah~ the hospital said it's rheumatoid arthritis. Look at this hand, isn't it deformed and can't be straightened?" Xiaoyun said on behalf of her sister, then pulled her sister's hand over for Su Ziyang to see.

Xiaocai's skin was very fair, and her hands were clenched together like chicken claws.

"Move your fingers a bit, let me see!" Su Ziyang gestured for Xiaocai to move her fingers.

Xiaocai obediently tried to spread her fingers open, but although it was clear that Xiaocai had tried her best, her fingers remained curled up and motionless.

"It's that serious!" Su Ziyang said softly.

"Don't even mention it, it's been so many years. About ten years," Xiaoyun explained from the side.

Xiaocai nodded in agreement.

"So, how far can your arm extend?" Su Ziyang frowned when he heard that the illness had lasted for so long.

"That's it!" Xiaocai said, stretching her arms forcefully. The angle at her elbow was just over 90 degrees, and she couldn't stretch any further.

"Are there any other areas where you can't stretch or are deformed? Do these joints hurt?" Su Ziyang asked again.

"I can manage other parts of my body, but it's not as bad as my arm. Usually, it's just joint pain and I feel weak," Xiaocai said.

"Why has it been so long? Haven't you seen it yet?"

"Of course I've seen it! I've seen it in so many places!!! I'm currently taking a Western medicine, which relieves the pain a bit while I'm taking it, but it's back to normal when I stop. And this medicine doesn't cure the deformity either; my joints are getting worse and worse. Before, I could open my hand, but now, look, my little finger is practically unable to straighten out," Xiaocai said softly.

"What caused this to happen? Did it suddenly turn out like this?" Su Ziyang felt that asking more questions was definitely not a bad thing.

"It wasn't sudden, I think. I remember when I had just gotten married, I felt pain in my finger joints after doing laundry. I thought it was just from being tired, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But it got worse and worse, so I went to the hospital for a checkup. They said my rheumatoid factor was high, and some proteins were also high. They said it was arthritis and prescribed medication," Xiaocai said, recalling the experience.

"Oh, I see. You've tried both Western and Chinese medicine?"

"I've eaten them all, I've eaten them all."

"It doesn't work?!"

"It's useless, basically ineffective. I haven't seen a doctor for the past two years. It's not just a waste of money, but also ineffective. Recently, my dad met someone who does acupuncture and moxibustion, saying it could cure it. He tried it for a few days but it hurt so much that he stopped going. I heard you can cure it, so I came to have you take a look. Sorry for the trouble. Haha." Xiaocai Cai described her condition in a flat tone.

"What's the use of small needle knife therapy? That stuff doesn't cure arthritis!" Su Ziyang was suddenly shocked. These people really dare to promise anything these days. Many times, it's these people who have ruined the reputation of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Don't even mention it!" Xiaoyun said with a grimace, extremely annoyed. "My dad met this guy somewhere who claimed to be a great cure. My sister said she didn't want to go, but my dad insisted. Each session cost over 300 yuan, and it hurt so much she was screaming! Not only was it painful, but it didn't even work. My dad prepaid over 2,000 yuan, and my sister only went three times before quitting. That guy wouldn't give her a refund! He said he could give her two more sessions if she went back, but she still couldn't get a refund. What kind of nonsense is this?! In the end, my dad went to get his arm treated himself."

"Oh!" Su Ziyang responded, then asked a question that wasn't really related to Xiaocai's condition, "How's your dad's frozen shoulder?"

"He felt much better after your massage, but he said it still hurt, so he went to get acupuncture!" Xiaoyun said without thinking.

Upon hearing this, Su Ziyang fell into deep thought. He suddenly felt that his medical skills were somewhat wasted on people like Su Wenxian.

Although a massage from someone in the surrounding villages is considered a favor, someone like Su Wenxian, who can give two thousand yuan to a stranger who tricked him, wouldn't even say thank you, is worse than the old lady who tremblingly brought him peanuts.

Looking back on the past week or so of giving free massages at home, how many people actually thanked me? The phrase I heard most often was, "If you do a good job, we'll spread the word about you. That would be a good thing for you!"

They felt that their role in promoting Su Ziyang's name was extremely important to Su Ziyang, and that they had made a great contribution to Su Ziyang's reputation, so Su Ziyang should give them free massages.

"Son, is your aunt's illness easy to cure?" Su Ziyang's mother's words interrupted Su Ziyang's thoughts.

"Let me think!" Su Ziyang paused for a moment and said, "It's not easy to treat. First, this disease has been going on for too long and can't be resolved in a short time. Second, this disease is a difficult problem worldwide, and it's not something I can cure just by saying so."

"We know," Xiaocai said, licking her lips. "If this disease were easy to cure, it would have been cured long ago. I understand everything you're saying."

Although Xiaocai said that, Su Ziyang Xiaocai still see the hope in her eyes when she looked at him. This hope came from the fact that he had restored her father's immobile shoulder to its original position several times. Therefore, Xiaocai respected Su Ziyang's medical skills very much in her heart, even though she didn't say it openly.

The understanding of a disease by ordinary people and doctors is absolutely different. Although Xiaocai understands that her father has frozen shoulder and she has rheumatoid arthritis, which are not the same disease, she only sees that the joint with limited mobility has returned to normal, rather than the internal factors of these diseases.

This is also the main reason why Xiaocai Cai kept pestering her younger sister to accompany her to see Su Ziyang today. After all, she's only in her thirties, how could she not yearn to return to a normal life?

"Let me check first." Su Ziyang stood up and stood next to Xiaocai.

"Does it hurt?" Su Ziyang placed his hand on Xiaocai's elbow joint.

"It hurts!" Despite the pain, Xiaocai still cooperated fully with Su Ziyang's examination and did not instinctively flinch at all.

Su Ziyang found some key points on Xiaocai's wrist, elbow, finger, and knee joints, and all of these points were tender to the touch.

"When do you usually experience the most severe pain? Is there a difference between day and night?" Su Ziyang asked again after the examination.

"The pain is worse at night, and it's also more severe when it's cloudy or rainy." Xiaocai had a very accurate understanding of her condition. "I'm particularly sensitive to the cold, so you can see I wore a lot of clothes when I came here!"

"Okay, I understand!" Su Ziyang nodded, then took out the pulse pillow his father had made from his room and placed it under Xiaocai's wrist.

"Let me take your pulse first!"

"OK!"

Su Ziyang placed his fingers on Xiaocai 'Xiaocai wrist and began to take her pulse.