A competent doctor can cure everything

“Ah!”

Jeong Ho-jeong, the captain of the Blue Whales, suddenly shouted during practice.

She was startled, dropping her right arm as if it had been burned.

“Ho-jeong, what’s wrong?”

A middle-aged man approached and asked.

He was the head athletic trainer (AT) for the Blue Whales, seasoned in his role.

He was responsible for the players’ basic health management and took charge of bringing players to the hospital when needed.

“Ah, my shoulder just suddenly hurt a lot. Did I practice too hard today? Haha.”

“Don’t push yourself. Everyone knows how hard you work.”

“Still, I really want to do well this season.”

Ho-jeong murmured, wrapping her left hand around her right shoulder.

“Yeah… I know it was a tough decision to turn down offers from Turkey and the U.S. during the offseason because of the Blue Whales. It must have been hard for you, but everyone is grateful.”

In fact, Ho-jeong had rejected attractive offers from volleyball powerhouses.

If she were to leave, the next season for the Blue Whales would be uncertain.

Just one more time.

Ho-jeong wanted to support Coach Han Mi-young and the Blue Whales, even at the cost of her own opportunity.

“Ah, it’s fine. The team can’t function without me, so I have to! Instead, I’ll do well this season and get rewarded for it.”

“Right, that’s the spirit. Is your shoulder okay? Should we move up your hospital appointment?”

After being the head AT for a long time, he had his go-to hospital.

This AT often took players to a particular orthopedic clinic, which was quite well-known locally, making it hard to get an appointment.

The doctor at that clinic would often accommodate the head AT’s requests, moving up appointment dates or surgery schedules as much as possible.

“No, it’s okay. I think I can just go on the original date.”

Jeong Ho-jeong replied cheerfully.

However, that night…

“Ugh… it hurts so much. Is this a fracture or a dislocation?”

Ho-jeong was tossing and turning in bed.

She couldn’t sleep due to the pain in her right shoulder.

Despite being accustomed to pain, this was an excruciating ache that made her break out in a cold sweat and left her breathless.

Finally, as soon as daylight broke, she rushed to the orthopedic clinic with the head AT.

And then…

“What? Surgery?”

“The doctor said that since you insisted on avoiding surgery, we’ve only been monitoring with conservative treatment, but it seems surgery would be better.”

The doctor who had diagnosed her with a SLAP lesion in her right shoulder said.

Surgery…

Ho-jeong blinked in disbelief.

It felt as if she were underwater, with sounds muffled and echoing.

“Ugh, this is a headache. How long will it take to recover if I have surgery?”

“At least three months, and it could take up to six months if we’re being cautious.”

“No way!”

Ho-jeong suddenly regained her composure and shouted.

The KOVO Cup tournament was less than three weeks away, and right after that, the regular league would start.

“But Ho-jeong, you can’t even move your arm right now.”

“I understand the situation, but it would be better to have the surgery quickly and focus on rehabilitation. There happens to be a canceled surgery slot, and I can fit you in.”

“Doctor, when could the surgery be scheduled?”

“Well, that’s…”

As the AT and the doctor conversed, Ho-jeong desperately thought of something.

Soon the pain would worsen, along with the words of the acupuncturist who claimed they could treat her without surgery.

Today, the director mentioned that the acupuncturist would be coming for a consultation.

“Wait a minute, doctor! I just need one day to think about it.”

Ho-jeong urgently interrupted as the doctor checked the surgery schedule on the computer.

* * *

The atmosphere was like a funeral home.

It was literally a somber atmosphere.

When news spread that Jeong Ho-jeong might be sidelined, the team’s morale plummeted, threatening to dig a hole straight down.

There was no other way around it.

One of Ho-jeong’s nicknames was “Girl Head of Household.”

This name was given because she single-handedly led the Blue Whales through their games.

Jeong Ho-jeong had the highest attacking efficiency and success rate among active female volleyball players.

If she were to be absent, the team would face a significant void.

Director Han Mi-young was silent.

Others were merely watching the director’s expressions, and practice had been temporarily halted.

“Ho-jeong, are you out of your mind? You’re going to delay surgery just based on what that intern said? Don’t you know how hard it is to get a reservation there?”

“But that acupuncturist predicted my shoulder would get a lot worse in a few days.”

“I understand how you feel, but wake up. This is just an escape from reality.”

“I’ll listen to what the acupuncturist has to say today first.”

Learning the reason behind Ho-jeong’s refusal of the surgery appointment twisted the emotions of the head AT as well.

To him, it looked like the cocky intern was deceiving the player with sweet talk and ruining the team.

“I’ll show him. If he says something different from the hospital’s diagnosis, I’ll humiliate him and get him kicked out.”

As the situation worsened, he found himself feeling this way.

* * *

In the evening, the intern arrived at the gym.

The head AT crossed his arms and looked disapprovingly at Jeong Ho-jeong as she explained the situation to the intern.

Intern Seon-Joon calmly listened to her and began the examination.

“If no pain is 0 and the maximum pain you can imagine is 10, what would you rate your current pain level?”

“…9.”

Everyone around gasped at Ho-jeong’s response.

For her to rate her pain as a 9, considering she usually shows no signs of discomfort for most injuries, was shocking.

“The pain is in the front of your shoulder, right?”

“Yes, yes. It extends from my shoulder down to my arm.”

“Let’s see what movements you can do right now.”

As Seon-Joon reached out to touch her, Ho-jeong flinched and pulled away from his hand.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Even just touching it hurts too much. I can’t do any movements, anyway, doctor.”

“I still need to check. We have to see if there are any passive movements that someone else can assist you with.”

Seon-Joon moved her arm gently and nodded as if he understood.

“Both active and passive range of motion are restricted, and there’s a protective response.”

“A protective response?”

“You’re keeping the painful arm close to your body and trying to protect it with your other hand.”

“Oh.”

“And two days ago, you were able to rotate your arm backward. You had more difficulty raising it in front or to the side.”

Adjusting his glasses, Seon-Joon declared, “This is not due to a SLAP lesion.”

The head AT, who had been waiting for a chance to speak, sharply interjected, “What nonsense is that? She was diagnosed at a well-known orthopedic clinic and even had an MRI.”

“I never said there was no SLAP lesion. I just said that’s not the cause of her symptoms.”

“Huh? Is that some sort of wordplay…?”

Seon-Joon calmly countered the head AT’s words, prompting Ho-jeong to urgently intervene.

“Doctor, then what’s causing this?”

“This is a symptom caused by calcific tendinitis.”

“Excuse me?”

“If it was a SLAP lesion, you would have felt pain when rotating your arm backward, along with a sense of your shoulder dislocating. Did you experience those symptoms?”

As the new diagnosis emerged, Ho-jeong raised her eyebrows, prompting Seon-Joon to ask again.

Ho-jeong hesitated and searched her memory.

“No, I didn’t feel that. But they said the MRI clearly showed a SLAP lesion.”

“Just because the MRI shows a labral tear doesn’t mean it necessarily causes pain. Pain can arise from other issues.”

“Then what is calcific tendinitis?”

“It’s the deposition of calcium in the tendon. The shoulder is the most common site for this condition. In the acute phase, it’s accompanied by severe pain. Additionally, both active and passive range of motion are restricted, and it features protective responses, along with significant night pain—just like you’re experiencing.”

“So, can it be treated without surgery?”

This question came from Han Mi-young, the head coach, who had been silently observing.

“Yes, it can. We can start right away.”

Seon-Joon adjusted the medical bag on his shoulder as he spoke.

Seon-Joon, Jeong Ho-jeong, Coach Han, and the head AT then moved to the infirmary for treatment as per Seon-Joon’s suggestion.

The others, despite the chaotic atmosphere, began practice.

Seon-Joon took out treatment tools from the medical bag.

Cupping therapy, acupuncture, and medicinal injections, along with…

“Huh? An X-pad?”

The intern pulled out a tablet PC.

Everyone looked puzzled at the unexpected item. The head AT openly scoffed.

“Are you still an intern, so you need to cheat on acupoints?”

“No, I’m going to perform ultrasound-guided injections.”

“What? Ultrasound?”

Now that he mentioned it, a small, long white object was lying next to the pad.

At first glance, it looks like an electric razor.

“This is a portable ultrasound machine. I’ll use it to examine your shoulder while performing the treatment. We could find the tender points and treat them, but this method will be more accurate.”

“Wow, you really came prepared for everything.”

“Since we’ve already postponed the surgery, let’s stop complaining and just observe quietly if you trust me.”

Despite Coach Han’s reprimand, the head AT fell silent, though he still looked displeased.

In fact, Jeong Ho-jeong, who had been stubborn, felt just as anxious.

Even though she had decided to postpone the surgery as the doctor suggested…

“Did I really make the right choice? Am I just foolishly delaying the surgery? If I’m not here, we’ll have to change all the strategies we’ve been practicing. Who could possibly replace me? If the next tournament goes poorly because of me, the coach might get fired. Then Coach Han’s vision for a more advanced style of volleyball would be over.”

Worries kept piling up in Ho-jeong’s mind.

Contrary to her anxious heart, Seon-Joon calmly explained the treatment process.

“First, we’ll do wet cupping, specifically for extracting blood, on the tender points.”

With that, Seon-Joon located the tender points by pressing on areas like the greater tubercle of the humerus, the supraspinatus, and the deltoid.

“Next, we’ll proceed with acupuncture. I’ll be using 0.3 x 40 mm needles. We’ll needle the representative acupuncture points for shoulder treatment, including Jianyu, Jianzhong, and points on the supraspinatus such as Gegu, Quyuan, and Bingfeng, as well as the deltoid’s Jianliao and Loushu points. Additionally, we’ll needle any areas that show tenderness, known as Ashi points.”

The depth of the acupuncture at the Ashi points was such that it made onlookers flinch as the needles went almost all the way in.

However, the intern proceeded with unwavering confidence and deft movements.

“Hm?”

Ho-jeong felt her shoulder muscles, which had been as stiff as stone, beginning to soften little by little.

The pain that had tormented her since the previous night was gradually fading away.

“Finally, we’ll proceed with the herbal acupuncture treatment. I’ll need to internally rotate your shoulder so that the herbal solution reaches the area with calcification. I’ll apply some ultrasound gel, which might feel a bit cold.”

Ho-jeong found it manageable when Seon-Joon rotated her shoulder inward, a stark contrast to how excruciatingly painful it had felt just moments ago.

Seon-Joon adjusted the pad and brought the portable ultrasound device to her shoulder. The screen displayed a black background with layers of white and gray shades, resembling geological strata.

“Do you see this? This is the area with calcification. We’ll inject the herbal solution here.”

“Ugh.”

As the long needle penetrated her shoulder, she felt the liquid being injected. Ho-jeong winced at the stiff pain.

But after a moment, instead of pain, she felt a refreshing sensation. It was as if the sharp stones tormenting her shoulder were being washed away.

She was astonished by the relief that came after nearly 20 hours of suffering, so much so that she barely heard the doctor say the treatment was over.

“…Miss? Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes!”

“The treatment is finished. Let’s see you move your arm.”

“Um….”

As Ho-jeong cautiously shrugged her right shoulder, those watching grew even tenser. She rotated her shoulder fully and widened her eyes in surprise.

“Wow! It moves so well.”

“What’s the pain level now?”

“At this point… I’d say 1, just 1!”

Coach Han and the head AT, who had been watching, were left speechless.

‘Is it really possible to heal that quickly?’

Given how excruciating the pain had been, they hadn’t expected such immediate relief.

Coach Han stared at Seon-Joon in astonishment.

“Seon-Joon, how on earth did you do that? Please explain. It feels like we’re witnessing some kind of magic.”

In response to her reaction, Seon-Joon finally smiled faintly for the first time that day.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. It’s not magic; it’s just the right treatment.”