I Can Hear the Heart's Voice of Traditional Chinese Medicine-Chapter 244 - 110: I Suspect You Came to Cause Trouble_2

After all, to live so long, he must have some skills.

In this way, Lu Xuan's age naturally loses its advantage and instead becomes a disadvantage.

Zhou Jiande seemed accustomed to this situation and looked at the middle-aged man who was speaking, "I know what you're worried about, but there's no need to worry at all. Dr. Lu's accomplishments in acupuncture far exceed those of my two students. Moreover, he was invited by the United South Chinese Medicine Association to be a consulting physician.

You may not know what it means to be invited by the United South Chinese Medicine Association, but even I must admit that in some respects, I might not be as good as this Dr. Lu, so you can rest assured on this point.

Besides, even if it's not Dr. Lu who treats you with needles, it could be one of my two foolish students. You can decide for yourself whether you want Dr. Lu to do the acupuncture or my two students."

The middle-aged man's gaze moved among the three people and finally decided to trust Zhou Jiande, mouthing, "Then Dr. Lu, please."

Zhou Jiande smiled, unsurprised by the choice.

Just now, during the conversation between him and Lu Xuan, the other surely heard it. Compared to his two students, Lu Xuan undoubtedly seemed more reliable in the other's eyes.

After all, being invited to the United South Chinese Medicine Association to consult, even if in the other's view his acupuncture might not be as great as Zhou Jiande's, he was still much better than his two students.

So, the only option for the other was Lu Xuan.

"Then let me try."

With the conversation reaching this point and the patient not saying anything, Lu Xuan naturally would not miss such a good opportunity and immediately went to the middle-aged man, "Give me your hand, and then tell me about your condition, where it feels uncomfortable, nothing too minute, don't hide anything."

Zhou Jiande nodded secretly, knowing that insiders see the essence while outsiders see the spectacle. From those few simple words, he could tell Lu Xuan was an extremely experienced Chinese medicine practitioner; otherwise, he would not have provided such a detailed account.

Moreover, the most crucial part is the pulse diagnosis.

Don't think acupuncture is just listening to where the patient feels uncomfortable and then applying needles based on the situation.

In fact, it's not so simple. Even acupuncture requires inspection, listening, inquiry, and pulse-taking, applying the treatment based on the syndrome differentiation.

Acupuncture therapy is a crucial component of the treasure trove of Chinese medicine, widely applied in treating diseases across internal, gynecology, pediatrics, external medicine, ENT, infectious, and radiation therapies.

According to literature records, as early as the times of the Inner Canon, there were profound discussions on commonly seen acute clinical symptoms, including syndrome differentiation, pathogenesis, symptoms, and acupuncture point selection.

The Spiritual Pivot Benshen Chapter Nine Needles and Twelve Sources states: "Whenever using a needle, one must first take the pulse, observing the severity and ease of qi, and then treatment can proceed."

Spiritual Pivot's Guan Neng chapter also says: "The logic of diagnosis lies in knowing the location of form and qi."

All these indicate that before using needles, clear syndrome differentiation is necessary before deciding on treatment measures.

The middle-aged man slightly raised his hand to a position where Lu Xuan could take his pulse while recounting his condition.

Lu Xuan listened quietly, then gave his assessment: "This should be a case of Bi zheng, commonly known as sciatic nerve pain."

Sciatic nerve pain refers to pain that occurs along the sciatic nerve pathway and its distribution range, such as the lower back and sacral region, buttocks, the back of the thigh, and the posterior lateral side of the calf.

Clinically, it is further divided into primary and secondary types.

Primary sciatic nerve pain, or sciatic neuritis, is often associated with wind, cold, damp, and infection.

Secondary sciatic nerve pain results from mechanical compression or adhesion due to pathological changes in adjacent tissues of the nerve pathway, commonly seen in lumbar disc herniation, pelvic lesions, and lumbosacral injuries.

Depending on the lesion's location, it can be categorized into radicular and trunk sciatic nerve pain.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is called "Zuotunfeng," "Huanxiaofeng," "Tuigu feng," and so on, falling under the category of "Bi Zheng," regarding obstructions in meridians due to wind, cold, dampness blocking qi and blood flow.

"So Dr. Lu, is this serious?"

"From what you described, it shouldn't be caused by a lumbar disk herniation. Otherwise, acupuncture alone wouldn't be very effective."

After speaking, Lu Xuan turned to Zhou Jiande: "Elder Zhou, may I borrow your needle set?"

Zhou Jiande had already prepared a sterilized needle box. Lu Xuan took it in hand and pulled out an acupuncture needle from it.

Acupuncture needle is the most frequently used needle in acupuncture. Other types are rarely utilized.

The points such as Huan Tiao, Zhi Bian, Cheng Fu, Yin Men, Wei Zhong, Yang Ling Quan, Cheng Shan, Kun Lun, and Da Chang Shu emerged vividly in Lu Xuan's mind. He held a needle in one hand and quickly inserted it into the Huan Tiao point, then performed rotating and obtaining qi.

Zhou Jiande watched intently, noticing that Lu Xuan accurately located the acupuncture points. For sciatic nerve pain, if it were him, he would also choose points like Huan Tiao and Zhi Bian. However, his discerning eyes quickly picked up that Lu Xuan hadn't been learning acupuncture for long, perhaps just recently started.

"Dr. Lu, have you not been involved with acupuncture for a long time?"

"Not even ten days."

Lu Xuan spoke truthfully; there was nothing to hide. He sought Zhou Jiande hoping this acupuncture-experienced elder could provide some advice to improve his needle techniques.

"No wonder. You accurately identified syndromes and points, but your proficiency in needle insertion is low, and your rotating technique clearly hasn't been practiced long. If it weren't for your astounding internal medicine skills, with such low proficiency in needle techniques, acupuncture wouldn't be effective."

Zhou Jiande was straightforward, not offering any flattery despite Lu Xuan being a consulting physician at the United South Chinese Medicine Association, instead pointing out issues honestly.

He discussed both strengths and weaknesses without reservation.

Lu Xuan, on the other hand, was extremely delighted.

This was exactly the outcome he hoped for.

He was also amazed at Zhou Jiande's keen insight, where with just one needle inserted, he could discern the situation. This ability was indeed possible only for an elder with decades of experience in acupuncture. Others might mistakenly perceive Lu Xuan's technique as skillful.

However, in reality, his proficiency in needle insertion was woefully inadequate.

This skill is not something one can achieve by merely hanging around or by having a photographic memory; it requires constant practice, mastering the needle to the point where it functions as an extension of the arm. Only then can one truly be considered proficient.

"Nevertheless, achieving this at your age is commendable. It's astonishing that in less than ten days, you managed accurate point selection and confident needle insertion, an amazing feat."

"But this is closely related to your proficiency in Chinese internal medicine, otherwise, ten days would hardly suffice to even accurately locate acupuncture points."

Zhou Jiande was not stingy with praises, then immediately stepped forward for closer instruction: "Now about the method of needle insertion, let me demonstrate, watch carefully.

Acupuncture manipulation generally involves coordination of both hands, requiring correct posture for smooth operation.

Each hand has its role, the right hand holds and manipulates the needle, while the left hand presses around the point, assisting with insertion, known as the "pressing hand."

Zhou Jiande explained while demonstrating: "Where does this come from? Shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

Lu Xuan responded following Zhou Jiande's words: "The Spiritual Pivot Benshen Chapter Nine Needles and Twelve Sources states: 'The right hand pushes, the left hand governs.' The Difficult Classic Seventy-Eighth Difficulty says: 'Those skilled in acupuncture put trust in their left; those not, in their right.' The Biao You Fu says: 'The left hand applies heavy pressure to disperse qi; the right hand gently inserts slowly so as not to cause pain.'"

Zhou Jiande looked at Lu Xuan in surprise. When he asked that question, he only had the Spiritual Pivot Benshen Chapter Nine Needles and Twelve Sources in mind, as it was the acupuncture book he read the most. Yet, he hadn't expected Lu Xuan to not only remember this but also the Difficult Classic Seventy-Eighth Difficulty and Biao You Fu intimately.

Zhou Jiande immediately held Lu Xuan in high regard: "Your knowledge of medical texts is terrifying. I've studied acupuncture for decades and struggle to recall every detail from acupuncture books. But you've mastered them all. Now I understand why you've made such terrifying progress in just ten days."

This terrifying memory, who wouldn't be bewildered upon hearing this?

If he hadn't known Lu Xuan mainly studied Chinese internal medicine and had little acupuncture exposure, he might suspect that a true acupuncture master had come to challenge his skills.