Chapter Thirty-Four: Rheumatic Arthritis

  Thank you very much for the rewards and evaluation votes from Xue Shi Shou Huang! The collection is not yet one thousand! The new book list is only 26th, everyone is so supportive! Thank you!

  Saying goodbye to Ye Cai Ping and Ma Sao, Chu Jiaqiang bought some snacks and returned home.

  Back home, Second Aunt asked: "Ah Qiang! How's that girl? Not bad, right? Let me tell you! That girl is the daughter of the town head. When chasing a girl, be more proactive and say some nice words, and feelings will develop."

  Second Uncle also sat beside and listened to the situation, Chu Jia Wan that girl even more from the room inside slipped out, pretending to be thirsty pouring water to drink, but perked up her ears.

  "Hmm! Hmm! It's okay, I used to be classmates with him too, and he said it was alright to date for a while." Chu Jiaqiang felt a bit awkward.

  "Classmate? Brother, your chances are even greater now." Chu Jia Yan immediately chimed in. Second Uncle and Second Aunt were also somewhat surprised. In fact, Second Uncle was extremely eager to see this marriage happen. Being able to marry the town mayor's daughter would make their ancestors' graves smoke with pride! In his heart, an official's status had always been the highest.

  "This thing needs to be ground slowly, can't rush it." Chu Jiaqiang thought of his appointment with Ye Caiping and felt a headache, praying in his heart: Don't drag me down! Can't afford to get hurt!

  "That's natural! That's natural! Let's keep in touch more often, thank you. Don't be stingy with that little phone bill." Er Aunt said immediately.

  After lunch, Chu Jiaqiang went to the reservoir again. Now that the funds are sufficient, Chu Jiaqiang immediately put the bridge construction on the agenda, and it's better to do it sooner rather than later.

  "Good grief! Foolish! Why didn't you just discuss this with Fifth Uncle?" Chu Jiaqiang slapped his own forehead, then turned around and headed straight for Fifth Uncle's house.

  Wu Shu's family raised a wolf dog, the most ferocious dog in the village, which everyone called Qing Lang. Wu Shu often took Qing Lang to the mountains to hunt for game when he had nothing else to do. In this remote mountainous area, hunting was not against the law. However, the villagers also had a tradition that anything pregnant or young should not be killed.

  "Ah! Qiang has arrived! Come in quickly, I'm looking for your Fifth Uncle! He's inside, come on in!" Wu Ayi was very enthusiastic towards Chu Jiaqiang. She didn't have any grandchildren of her own, and since Chu Jiaqiang was an orphan, she liked him even more, almost treating him like her own grandson.

  "Alright! Aunt Wu, your rheumatism is acting up again, isn't it?" Chu Jiaqiang observed Aunt Wu's expression and immediately knew that her old ailment had flared up again.

  "Alas! Isn't that so? Didn't sleep well all last night? The town's clinic is no good, prescribed a lot of medicine, at first it had some effect, but the more I took, the less effective it became. If only that old Taoist priest was still around, I wouldn't have to suffer like this. Hmm! How did you know my old illness has relapsed?" Only then did Wu Ayi ask in surprise.

  "Haha! Fifth Aunt, you forgot that the old Taoist priest forced me to learn medicine with him back then. Although I didn't learn much, I can still tell a thing or two about diagnosing illnesses by observing the colors." Chu Jiaqiang said with a smile.

  "You didn't mention it and I almost forgot that you're his apprentice, since you've figured out my illness, can you give some suggestions for medication?" asked Fifth Uncle's wife.

  "Really? Then I'll make you a Chinese medicine later, even if it doesn't taste good, it won't affect anything." Chu Jiaqiang hesitated for a moment before saying.

  Rheumatic arthralgia is caused by the invasion of wind, cold and dampness into the human body. After the invasion of wind, cold and dampness into the human body, it leads to obstruction of tendons and blood vessels, "if not smooth, then pain", which often causes redness, swelling and pain in joints, periosteum, muscles and other parts of the human body.

  Rheumatic bone pain also manifests in many aspects, such as joint pain, morning stiffness, joint swelling and tenderness, and joint soreness.

  Morning stiffness in patients with morning or rest for a longer period, the joints presented sticky rigid feeling, can only be relieved or disappeared after activity. Morning stiffness is most prominent in rheumatoid arthritis, can last for several hours, and lasts shorter in other types of arthritis.

  Joint swelling and tenderness often occur in painful joints, are signs of synovitis or periarticular soft tissue inflammation, and vary in degree depending on the severity of the inflammation. May be caused by joint effusion or synovial hypertrophy. Bony overgrowth is more common in osteoarthritis.

  Joint swelling, joint deformity and dysfunction refer to the loss of normal shape and limited range of motion of the joints, such as knee cannot be fully extended, ulnar deviation of metacarpophalangeal joints, subluxation, etc. These changes are all related to the destruction of cartilage and bone. Common in rheumatoid arthritis.

  These are all theoretical in Western medicine, very objective and easy to understand, which is the characteristic of Western medicine, with pictures and truth, inferring diseases based on changes in human body structure, quite scientific. This is also one of the reasons why Western medicine has been thriving while traditional Chinese medicine has been declining.

  In traditional Chinese medicine, rheumatic arthralgia is believed to be caused by the invasion of wind, cold and dampness into the human body. Very simple, but few people can understand it. Traditional Chinese medicine is profound and subtle, invisible, intangible, and sounds mysterious, in the eyes of many people, it has almost become a pseudoscience.

  The treatment methods for rheumatic bone pain include analgesic western medicine, physical therapy, massage and acupuncture, block therapy, surgical treatment, etc. However, the above methods all have many defects, some with large side effects, some with high costs, and some treatments themselves make patients suffer unbearable pain.

  In the treatment of rheumatic bone pain, local heat therapy, hot water bath, steam inhalation and other physical therapy methods can be used for treatment. Oral administration or external application of drugs can also be used for treatment.

  "This illness won't be cured in a short time, it needs to be treated slowly. I'll first prescribe a treatment plan for you, Fifth Auntie, take the medicine for ten or eight days, if you feel effective, I'll think of another plan and continue the treatment." Chu Jiaqiang continued to say.

  "Alright! Alright! I know that. It's still better to take herbal medicine, it's more reassuring. This illness is really torturing people!" Wu Ayi led Chu Jiaqiang inside.

  Chu Jiaqiang also told Wu Shubo a few things to pay attention to: First, rest well; Second, be good at protecting damaged joints; Third, moderate exercise; Fourth, bask in the sun more.

  During the acute phase, joints should be moved as little as possible, and even bed rest is recommended. Pay attention to body position during rest to avoid putting pressure on the joints. Fatigue is a common manifestation of this disease, so adequate rest is an important treatment method. Take short breaks during the day and have sufficient sleep at night.

  In daily life, pay attention to the protection of damaged joints, alleviate joint pain during daily activities, delay or prevent the progression of the disease, and try to avoid permanent deformation of the joints.

  Exercise has the benefits of improving blood circulation and metabolism, enhancing physical fitness and endurance, benefiting the improvement and recovery of joint mobility, preventing osteoporosis and muscle atrophy, reducing joint stiffness and deformity.

  People with rheumatism and arthralgia should bask in the sun more often, letting their skin be directly exposed to sunlight, using the radiation of the sun to treat diseases or strengthen their bodies. In "Huangdi Neijing", it is said that one should go to bed early and get up early in summer, and go to bed early and get up late in winter.