Almighty Coach

Chapter 276: Arthritis And Scapulohumeral Periarthritis

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Although Youdi Wei had more than 10 years coaching experience, at this moment he was still quite cautious, because he had never trained elderly people before.

Youdi Wei’s trainee, Mr. Liu, was the oldest among the three retired cadres, so he closely observed Mr. Liu’s status and dared not to make any mistakes.

Meanwhile, Youdi Wei also paid attention to Dai Li and Guang Wu’s behaviors, especially Dai Li, who was Youdi Wei’s main competition. Since Youdi Wei knew that, although Guang Wu was pretty good, he was still behind Wei, and Dai Li was Youdi Wei’s strongest opponent.

Dai Li is taking a break now. Is it because Mr. Zhang can’t catch up? Youdi Wei checked the time on his watch, then looked at his trainee, Mr. Liu, and felt that they needed some rest, too.

But several seconds later, Youdi Wei suddenly noticed that Dai Li was giving Mr. Zhang a muscle massage.

Muscle massage? They have only trained one hour. Why are they having a massage now? Shouldn’t muscle massage be given after a whole day’s training. Why do they start now! Youdi Wei didn’t get Dai Li’s point.

"Ouch!" A groan came into Youdi Wei’s ears. It was Mr. Zhang’s painful scream. He couldn’t bear the pain during Dai Li’s massage on his lumber.

Youdi Wei almost laughed out loud.

He must be putting too much power into the massage that Mr. Zhang can’t bear the press. Dai Li’s massage sucks. He can’t even control his strength. This Dai Li does have outstanding achievements, but he is still too young and lack skills on muscle massaging!

...

On the other side, Ping Wang and Tao Lin also furrowed their eyebrows.

Tao Lin said, "Dai Li seems to be not very good at muscle massage."

"But he should be. His materials said clearly that he was proficient in rehabilitative massage. Moreover, he has been on the national team for quite a while, according to my understanding. The national athletic team offers extremely high-intensive training, and every day after training finishes, muscle massage is a requirement. Dai Li has been studying on the national team and should have acquired some true abilities. more or less."

"Who knows, perhaps the materials are not sufficient." Tao Lin paused, then said, "But I’m worried about Mr. Zhang. After all, he is a retired cadre from the Provincial Party Committee. If he gets hurt here with our team after today’s training, and the news spread, we will lose face."

While the two were discussing, Mr. Zhang, who was still on the ground, showed an extremely enjoyable look.

"Comfy, this is so enjoyable! I feel my whole lumber is relaxed." Mr. Zhang stood up and twisted his waist pretty hard, then realized that his previous soreness caused by Lumbar Disc Protrusion had gone completely.

"Hey, young man, you are good! My Lumbar Disc Protrusion has been with me for more than 20 years. In recent years I have received conservative treatment, but it is not as effective as your several-minute massage. It looks like I don’t need to worry about twisting my waist anymore today," Mr. Zhang said, as he kept shaking his body.

"Shall we move on?" asked Dai Li.

"Sure, let’s do it!" Mr. Zhang nodded.

...

At eleven o’clock, morning training finished.

Mr. Chen plodded on the ground. He was having difficulty stepping forward.

Mr. Chen’s behavior brought Guang Wu a sense of foreboding.

Is it because the morning training intensity was above Mr. Chen’s endurance that he is exhausted? Guang Wu carefully recalled his training and felt that there was nothing wrong.

But the other two cadres, Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang walked as if on wings. Their conditions were way better than Mr. Chen’s.

We three have the same training time, and we probably have similar training intensities. But why does only Mr. Chen walk unsteadily? Guang Wu was confused.

Dai Li and Youdi Wei also noticed it.

Youdi Wei thought Guang Wu had trained Mr. Chen improperly, but Dai Li knew clearly, that Mr. Chen’s Arthritis must be acting up.

...

Ping Wang drove the three seniors home in his car.

"Mr. Chen, is your leg alright?" Ping Wang asked.

"I’m OK. The only thing is that I haven’t practiced like that for a long time. I can’t bear it. My Arthritis has been there for years. Once I take a break this afternoon I should be fine." Mr. Chen paused, then said, "Wang, I won’t come this afternoon."

Ping Wang nodded, then asked, "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Liu, are you two alright?"

"Nothing is wrong. With my Scapulohumeral Periarthritis, as long as I don’t catch cold or get exhausted, I should be fine," said Mr. Liu.

"My Lumbar Disc Protrusion is fine!" Mr. Zhang said. "Hey, you know what? That coach Li does have something. After his massage, I feel my whole waist is relaxed!"

"You really feel comfortable? Old Zhang, I heard you scream during it. It didn’t sound comfortable!" Mr. Chen joked on Mr. Zhang.

"You know nothing. I did feel some pain when he was pressing, but after that I really felt comfortable. Let me tell you, in massage, the pain indicates that the massage therapist found the spot. The good joints won’t produce pain when being pressed. By the way, I have tried many massage therapists, and none of them compares to Coach Li. I think if he is not a coach, he can earn much money being a massage therapist." Mr. Zhang smiled.

Ping Wang interrupted, "Mr. Zhang, I saw Dai Li give you massages on your waist two or three times. Did he know you have Lumbar Disc Protrusion?"

"Yes, he knew," Mr. Zhang said. "But I didn’t tell him. When he was massaging, he touched my lumber and said that I have a protruded lumber. I thought he must have sensed it, otherwise how can he massage so well!"

"So Coach Li sensed it himself!" Ping Wang nodded silently. Now he knew that was why Dai Li gave Mr. Zhang a massage. The reason was that he hoped to reduce Mr. Zhang’s lumber pressure through massaging, so that Mr. Zhang could perform better in the upcoming exercises.

Dai Li is incredible. He has indeed stayed on the national team for a while, Ping Wang said in his heart.

Then he asked, "Mr. Liu, did Coach Wei know about your Scapulohumeral Periarthritis?"

"I didn’t tell him, so how could he know that?" Mr. Liu replied.

As for whether Guang Wu knew about Mr. Chen’s Arthritis or not, Ping Wang didn’t even ask. If Guang Wu knew it in advance, he would have paid more attention during training, and Mr. Chen would not be like he was now, who couldn’t even walk smoothly.

...

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the training continued.

Dai Li, Youdi Wei, and Guang Wu were already waiting on the training field.

After a while, Ping Wang led the retired cadres there. However, only Mr. Zhang and Mr. Liu showed up. Mr. Chen was not there.

"Coach Wang, where is Mr. Chen?" Guang Wu asked involuntarily.

"Mr. Chen can’t come this afternoon. His Arthritis is bothering him again, and he needs to take a rest at home." Ping Wang seemed to say it casually. He paused, then continued. "Wu, since Mr. Chen is not here, you can go back and rest. There is no need to participate in afternoon training."

Ping Wang’s words apparently announced that Guang Wu was eliminated. Today was practical training, if the trainee was gone, there was no need for the coach to stay.

Ping Wang’s words shocked Guang Wu like a thunderclap. His face was filled with astonishment.

"Arthritis? Mr. Chen has Arthritis!" Guang Wu’s eyes widened.

Arthritis was a common disease, but it was the deathly opponent of all athletic activities. Guang Wu suddenly heard the news, and his heart surged with violent waves.

"It’s just ordinary Arthritis, which developed when he was an athlete," Ping Wang added.

Arthritis was a degenerative disease. The main causes were degeneration and injury of articular cartilage and joint marginal and subchondral bone hyperplasia. There were many factors that induced Arthritis, such as obesity, strain, trauma, congenital malformation, or because as one aged, sclerotin became worse, which led to a natural degeneration of articular cartilage, then caused Arthritis.

Many athletes, dancers, or heavy manual laborers who did a large amount of training, exercise, or work when they were young had joints that became abraded or even damaged. Such abrasion or damage might not have been noticeable when they were young, but if patients didn’t take good care of their joints, when they get older, the potential problems could lead to Arthritis. Mr. Chen was a professional athlete in the past and received a huge amount of training every day. At that time, there was no scientific training at all, and many athletes devoted themselves to exercises simply by their passions. Therefore, athletes over-practicing and then being discarded was a common occurrence. Mr. Chen’s joint damage had a particular cause, and to have Arthritis at his age was normal.

Actually, there was no effective treatment for Arthritis, and it mainly depended on rest and physiotherapy. If the symptoms were severe, then the patient could take medication. However, medicine such as Chondroitin, anti-inflammatories, and analgesics could only reduce pain, but were useless for rehabilitation. Sometimes patients chose to inject Hyaluronate into joints, but it couldn’t cure Arthritis completely, either. When conditions were really bad, the only thing that could possibly help was an artificial joint replacement.

Once an individual had Arthritis, the main treatment was not to "cure" but to "maintain", to avoid overwork or over-exercise, to reduce joint pressure and burden, and then wait for the Arthritis to disappear slowly and gradually. Eventually, the symptoms would lessen.

Therefore, Mr. Chen with his Arthritis was not suitable for long-term, high-load exercises.

However, Guang Wu didn’t know about this, so he didn’t avoid stimulating Mr. Chen’s joints on purpose. After a whole morning’s training, Mr. Chen’s joints were obviously overloaded. That was why he plodded when he left at noon.

At this time, Guang Wu was very upset. He felt that he had been framed by Mr. Chen. If Mr. Chen had mentioned his disease in advance, he surely would have been cautious the whole time so as to avoid stimulation on Mr. Chen’s weak knee joints.

...

Guang Wu was kicked out, and then only Dai Li and Youdi Wei left.

Youdi Wei looked at Mr. Liu by his side and asked scrupulously, "Mr. Liu, do you have any Arthritis?"

"When getting old, joints will have problems more or less," Mr. Liu said. "My joints are definitely not as good as you young people, but mine are not as poor as Old Chen."

As he said this, he confidently patted his two knees.

"Good to know." Youdi Wei released a long breath, then added, "Mr. Liu, if you feel anything that is not right, please tell me at once!"

"Sure thing. Don’t worry, if I feel uncomfortable, I will immediately let you know," answered Mr. Liu.

Youdi Wei relaxed a little bit. He involuntarily glanced in Dai Li’s direction, only to find the Mr. Zhang was still lying on the ground, receiving massage from Dai Li.

"Massage again? Afternoon training hasn’t started yet. Why do you massage now? You are a coach, not a massage therapist," Youdi Wei murmured.

...

On the training field, Mr. Liu’s actions gradually slowed down.

"What’s wrong, Mr. Liu?" Youdi Wei asked immediately.

"Wei, help me to take some rest over there," Mr. Liu answered. Youdi Wei immediately supported Mr. Liu by his shoulder.

"Don’t, don’t touch my shoulder, it hurts!" Mr. Liu grinned with pain. Youdi Wei changed to support his arm at once and sat down with him.

"What’s going on, Mr. Liu. Is your shoulder hurt? Did you twist your shoulder?" Youdi Wei asked worriedly.

"Nothing serious. My Scapulohumeral Periarthritis is occurring again. I will be fine with a medical paste," Mr. Liu talked to himself. "There were many activities today. I got wet all over and was blown by the wind, so my shoulder caught cold just now. My Scapulohumeral Periarthritis has been with me for years. The only thing I’m afraid of is to catch cold."

"Mr. Liu, you have Scapulohumeral Periarthritis? Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you?" Youdi Wei was about to cry.

"You asked me whether I have Arthritis or not! Mine is Scapulohumeral Periarthritis, not Arthritis." Mr. Liu said innocently.

Youdi Wei cried without tears.

Scapulohumeral Periarthritis was a common disease of the elderly. When it occurred, the patient not only felt pain in the shoulder, but also in biceps and triceps; the whole upper limb would usually not be able to rise.

This disease had slow onset, many patients with Scapulohumeral Periarthritis looked normal in daily life, but once the weather changed or the individual was overworked, the pain would be sensed on the shoulder.

Another feature of Scapulohumeral Periarthritis was the patient was afraid of coldness, therefore, the patient’s shoulders should always be kept warm throughout the year. In summer, they dared not to uncover their shoulders, nor did they dare to expose shoulders in front of a fan. Some people even used cotton padding to cover their shoulders all the time.

Like Arthritis, Scapulohumeral Periarthritis also needed conservative treatment and physiotherapy. Medicine could only reduce pain and inflammation, but could do nothing for rehabilitation. In daily life, besides keeping warm and not being overworked, the patient should take good care of his shoulders.

But Youdi Wei didn’t know that Mr. Liu had Scapulohumeral Periarthritis, so he didn’t avoid using shoulders in his training plans, which caused Mr. Liu’s shoulders to get overworked and get cold, and then he suffered from pain.

Dai Li’s training continued, while Youdi Wei’s had stopped. It seemed that in the follow-up session, Mr. Liu couldn’t return to the training field due to his disease.

Far from the field, Ping Wang looked at Mr. Liu, who was taking a break on the side and sighed, "It looks like the results of this test section are out!"

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