Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 130 - 90: Intervertebral Disc 2

"Okay, sure. We’ll head over in a bit."

Jamie King. He was the internist Chen Yu had come to New York to interview.

Soon, Skiles heard the news and rushed over.

His expression was grave as he anxiously asked what was wrong with J Kidd.

"We’ll know after the examination," Chen Yu said without further explanation.

Skiles sighed and didn’t ask any more questions. He arranged for a staff member who was with them to accompany Chen Yu to the hospital.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Chen Yu stood in the hallway, waiting for the imaging results while contemplating the next steps for treatment.

’In truth, a bulging intervertebral disc doesn’t require treatment if it isn’t compressing any blood vessels or nerves. The main approach is rehabilitation, observation, and conservative treatment.’

’Besides, it’s not easy to treat.’

’Theoretically, as long as it doesn’t cause problems, it can be ignored.’

’But it does pose a potential risk.’

’It’s like a car tire. It’s running just fine, but then it gets hit and a bulge forms. You never know when that bulge might burst.’

’Once it bursts, the nucleus pulposus herniates and compresses a nerve, and that’s when the real trouble starts.’

’At the current level of medical technology, if a herniation occurs and compresses a nerve, the primary treatment is still minimally invasive surgery to remove the herniated nucleus pulposus and relieve pressure on the disc.’

’If that doesn’t work and it progresses to a prolapse, then the entire intervertebral disc is removed, and the spine is fused.’

Just as he was thinking, Jamie arrived.

He wore a white lab coat over crisp suit trousers. His soft, golden hair was neatly combed, and he had a few freckles on his face and a pair of pale blue eyes.

He was four years older than Chen Yu.

To be able to get into New York-Presbyterian Hospital at his age, he had to be a top student.

"Chen," Jamie said, extending his hand.

Chen Yu felt the strength in his grip, but his gaze fell on Jamie’s left knee. "Jamie, is there something wrong with your left knee?"

It was more than just ’something wrong’. With a single glance, Chen Yu was surprised to discover that the man had actually had his left medial meniscus removed.

"Huh? How did you know?" Jamie looked astonished. "Don’t tell me you could tell from my gait? That’s impossible. I feel like I walk perfectly normally."

’He knew Chen Yu was an orthopedic surgeon, but for him to tell I had a knee problem just from my gait, right after we met—that’s almost supernatural.’

Chen Yu nodded and asked him what had happened.

Jamie said, "It’s nothing much. I played baseball in high school and got injured. I had no choice but to have half of my meniscus removed."

"You’ve recovered well, then." His gait problem was very subtle. If it weren’t for the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu wouldn’t have even thought to look for an issue.

While waiting for J Kidd to come out, the two of them sat down to chat.

"You know, back then, I almost chose orthopedics too. During the time I was injured, I actually had this idea of healing myself. That’s the reason I decided to go to medical school. But as you know, I can’t stand for long periods on this leg, so I had no choice but to pick internal medicine and then focus on research." Jamie patted his left leg.

Although it didn’t affect his daily life, he always felt like something was missing. He loved sports, and because of his leg, he had to give up many of his hobbies.

Chen Yu nodded and said, "Don’t worry, the R&D funding I promised you will definitely be there."

Surgeons make a living with their hands, whereas internists generally go into research.

And Jamie, he was a top student, but not quite at the very top.

Most importantly, he was too young. In the field of medical research, there was a whole line of senior figures ahead of him.

If he stayed at Presbyterian Hospital, he wouldn’t be able to land any independent medical projects. That’s why Jamie started thinking about leaving—for instance, to a medical research institute, or an ambitious private clinic that was willing to provide him with research funding.

What Chen Yu had promised was to provide him with funding to start his own research projects.

Jamie nodded with a smile. "That would be fantastic. But you should think it through. My research topic is human metabolism, and it’s difficult to produce any valuable results."

Chen Yu thought to himself, ’If that wasn’t what you were researching, I wouldn’t have looked for you.’

’Exercise and metabolism are inextricably linked.’

They chatted about a few other things.

For example, he was single, which was even more perfect. He could move to Phoenix without any worries.

As they were chatting, J Kidd’s examination was finished.

Jamie led Chen Yu to the MRI room, asking as they walked, "By the way, what do you suspect the problem is? I heard you say he took a fall. A bruised back muscle?"

Chen Yu shook his head but didn’t explain.

Soon, the two of them saw the test results.

"The lumbar spine structure is fine, but the disc between L4 and L5 is showing a bulge," the examining doctor said, pointing to the computer screen.

Jamie was stunned. "From the fall? He’s really unlucky, then."

After saying that, he gave Chen Yu a deep look.

’This kind of injury shouldn’t show any symptoms, yet Chen Yu had decisively arranged for J Kidd to come in for an examination. His experience is truly impressive. No wonder his reputation has been soaring in the medical community lately.’

Leaning over to observe the images closely, Jamie asked, "Chen, how do you plan to handle this? Conservative treatment?"

Chen Yu nodded. There were no other options.

’Since there’s no herniation, surgery isn’t an option. No medication can make the bulging fibrous ring retract. My own Acupuncture would have no effect, either. All that can be done is to hang from a pull-up bar more often and do targeted exercises to strengthen the back muscles and improve stability.’