Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 411 - 349: Permanent Back Strain

Chen Yu knew that Americans loved taking pills.

Never mind popping handfuls of painkillers when they were sick—at least then there was a real ailment, and the pain was unbearable.

But even when they weren’t sick, for the sake of their health and swayed by aggressive marketing from pharmaceutical companies, they would down handfuls of various vitamins to supplement so-called "missing elements" in the body.

Just take a look on Wall Street. Which of those dapper elites in the skyscrapers didn’t carry a small pillbox, ready to pop a couple of vitamins after a meal?

And when it came time to exercise, all sorts of supplements were considered essential.

But for someone like Michael Jackson to be taking about ten different kinds of pills at once... Chen Yu could only call that excessive.

"Michael, may I see this?" Chen Yu asked, walking over and pointing to the pillbox.

The assistant looked at Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson hesitated for a moment before nodding.

’He doesn’t seem to be very good at refusing people,’ Chen Yu thought.

Chen Yu glanced at the pills in the box and immediately recognized several of them.

’Prednisone, to suppress an overactive immune system.’

’Hydroxychloroquine sulfate, likely to control his lupus.’

’And cyclophosphamide, an anti-tumor drug that also acts as an immunosuppressant.’

The rest was a mishmash, mostly supplements like various B and P vitamins.

Of course, there was no shortage of painkillers.

’And this probably doesn’t even include topical medications.’

Chen Yu sighed. It wasn’t that he couldn’t take medicine, but taking this many pills placed an enormous burden on the body.

This was especially true for the various vitamins. If there was a genuine illness that required large-dose supplementation, then taking vitamins was fine.

But to down them by the handful when you were perfectly healthy was completely unnecessary.

And then there were the painkillers. Chen Yu had always known there were problems with painkillers and never prescribed them in excessive amounts to his patients.

But it was hard to counter the pharmaceutical companies’ frantic marketing.

As a result, even a wealthy celebrity like Michael Jackson had been influenced, taking painkillers by the handful.

"Have you been taking this one regularly?"

Chen Yu asked, picking up a white pill.

It was OxyContin.

Michael Jackson nodded. He knew Chen Yu was a doctor by profession, so he didn’t hide anything. "I started taking it last year. It works quite well."

’Of course it works well,’ Chen Yu thought. ’It’s a long-acting painkiller with a high dosage. The effect is bound to be strong.’

"Michael, you need to stop taking this drug," Chen Yu said with a serious expression.

Even before 2000, Chen Yu had noticed this drug and felt something was wrong with it.

Around 2001, the drug was selling like crazy. Chen Yu had heard from colleagues in the medical field that its weekly sales were in the tens of millions of US dollars.

Then, last year, the media had exposed that taking OxyContin could lead to death.

Later, the FBI got involved and launched an investigation into Pudu.

Chen Yu had been following this matter closely.

And then... there was no "and then."

No more news about it was ever released.

The investigation went nowhere, and Chen Yu immediately understood. The power of money had come into play, and the whole affair had been swept under the rug.

Meanwhile, OxyContin continued to flood the market.

There was nothing Chen Yu could do about the situation. The only thing he could do was to prescribe it less or not at all to his own patients.

"Why? I think it’s a pretty good drug," Michael Jackson asked in return, his tone sounding like he was trying to negotiate.

Chen Yu sat down, holding the pill. "Let me put it this way: this drug is addictive and extremely harmful to your body."

Michael Jackson frowned, then said, "But if I don’t take painkillers, I’m in a lot of pain. My head, my back, and my feet."

He pointed to his head, thought for a moment, and added, "It hurts so much I can’t sleep."

’His head?’

Chen Yu looked toward Michael Jackson’s head.

’If I remember correctly, he suffered scalp burns while filming a commercial for Coca-Cola in ’83. The media reported at the time that he underwent soft tissue expansion surgery for better recovery.’

’That’s where they implant a balloon under the skin, inject it with water over several weeks to stretch the skin, and then use the excess to repair the wound.’

It was a very new technology at the time.

A doctor named Noel had invented the technique in ’57, but it wasn’t until ’76 that a successful and usable soft tissue expander was actually created. Then, it wasn’t until ’82, after accumulating over fifty case studies, that a paper was published, finally drawing attention from the medical community.

In other words, when Michael Jackson had this surgery in ’83, the related clinical case tracking had only just been completed.

One could only imagine the risks of such a procedure.

What was worse, Michael Jackson also suffered from lupus, which caused the wound on his scalp to ulcerate continuously, making it extremely difficult to heal.

That surgery was likely the cause of his chronic headaches.

As for his back pain...

Chen Yu sighed. That must be from the bridge collapse accident in ’99.

The Eye of All-Seeing penetrated Michael Jackson’s body, locking onto his back.

It saw everything clearly. Centered on the supraspinous ligament, there were severe adhesions, inflammation, and scarring with the surrounding muscle groups.

It had been almost four years since that accident.

For the pain to still persist meant that it had developed into a permanent back strain.

As for the pain in his feet and legs, Chen Yu took a quick look.

’Not a major issue. Probably related to dancing too much.’

Professional dancers also had a host of leg problems, all caused by strain.

’That anti-gravity lean of his isn’t just anti-gravity; it’s anti-human.’

After a moment of thought, Chen Yu asked, "Michael, do you trust me?"

Michael Jackson nodded. "Chen, of course I trust you. You’re my friend."

Hearing "you’re my friend" made Chen Yu’s heart beat a little faster.

But it seemed Michael had misunderstood his meaning. Chen Yu clarified, "I mean, do you trust my medical skills?"

Michael Jackson nodded quickly. Miracle Doctor, presidential medical consultant—those weren’t titles to be taken lightly.

"Of course I do. I trust you as much as I trust that your shrimp dumplings are delicious."

Chen Yu nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He then checked the time on his watch and said, "Alright, how about this? Let’s not film this afternoon. You come with me to my clinic, and I’ll help you with your back pain. I imagine it’s even affecting your daily walk, isn’t it?"

When Chen Yu had first met Michael Jackson, he had noticed some issues with his gait.

"Can you?" A glint of light flashed in Michael Jackson’s eyes as he hurriedly asked, "I mean, can my back still be treated?"

It wasn’t that he hadn’t sought treatment. For the first two years after the injury, he had been seeing doctors, but it never healed.

Then, depressed over contract disputes and becoming reliant on painkillers, he had simply given up on treatment.

But only the one in pain truly knows. Those days of being unable to walk or sleep without painkillers were pure torture.

"Of course. I might even be able to get you ready for another concert. I mean, the kind where you can dance," Chen Yu said with a smile.

After that injury in ’99, he had never held another concert.

And as for jumping and dancing around, that had long been out of the question. His body just couldn’t handle it anymore.

But he was only forty-five this year, still in the prime of his life.

"Dance?"

Michael Jackson’s breathing grew rapid.

Despite all the criticism, doubt, and pain he had endured, the one thing on his mind more than anything else was always creating and performing on stage.

But he also knew very well that his physical condition no longer allowed him to give his fans a perfect concert.

And if it couldn’t be perfect, he would rather not step on stage at all.

However, after that inner turmoil, he quickly regained his composure, shaking his head slightly. "Chen, you don’t have to go out of your way to comfort me. My condition is terrible. Many people have said it’s untreatable. If it’s too much trouble, then you don’t have to."

’He’s being very polite, first thinking about not troubling others.’

"What’s this? You just said you trusted my medical skills, and now you’re starting to doubt me?" Chen Yu retorted.

Michael Jackson quickly shook his head. "That’s not what I mean."

"Alright."

Chen Yu cut him off. "I’m the doctor. Just follow my plan."

Michael Jackson paused for a second, then nodded.

Chen Yu immediately found Burnett and had him change the filming schedule.

Upon hearing that Chen Yu was going to treat Michael Jackson, Burnett was shocked and quickly asked if he could be cured.

"There’s a very good chance."

’Aside from the vitiligo and lupus, his other issues aren’t major problems.’

’At least, they’re not a problem in my hands.’

The only one who was probably bummed was O’Neal. Chen Yu was leaving, but his training schedule couldn’t stop.

On the drive to the clinic, Chen Yu sent Lexi a text in advance, telling her he had a surprise for her and that she shouldn’t get *too* surprised.

"Too surprised? As if," Lexi scoffed.

But when she actually saw Michael Jackson, she almost fainted.

She wasn’t the only one with that reaction.

The nurses and staff at the clinic had seen plenty of sports stars, but this was the first time they’d seen someone of Michael Jackson’s caliber.

Besides, having a few fans faint was standard procedure at a Michael Jackson concert.

Chen Yu had another surgery to perform, so he had Lexi take Michael Jackson to get his exams done first.

They still had to follow procedure.

When he came out of surgery two hours later, a massive crowd had formed outside the consultation room, completely blocking the area.

The head of security also told Chen Yu that reporters were swarming the main entrance.

A patient or staff member must have leaked the news to the press.

Ever since the clinic opened, that pack of reporters had never stopped trying to infiltrate it.

"Get back to work!"

Chen Yu snapped, shooing everyone away.

Inside the consultation room, Lexi and Jamie were fluttering around Jackson.

Lexi’s eyes were practically sparkling.

Whatever she was saying, Michael Jackson seemed completely overwhelmed.

Chen Yu cleared his throat lightly.

Jamie and the others tactfully stepped aside.

Only Lexi pretended she hadn’t heard a thing.

What could Chen Yu do? ’This starstruck wife of mine...’

Sitting down and picking up the scans, Chen Yu took a look and then said, "Michael, your back problem is very serious. The main issue is that the initial injury wasn’t properly treated, so an acute injury developed into a chronic one. This led to an inflammatory response, scar tissue proliferation, and finally, extensive adhesions."

Chen Yu pointed to the scans as he explained the situation to Michael Jackson.

This kind of condition was very common in the world of sports.

Groin pain was probably the most similar condition.

"So how do you treat it?" the assistant next to them asked softly.

"With this."

Chen Yu pulled a Small Needle Knife directly from his desk.

For tissue adhesions, surgery is the best solution. But for the back, for a surgery involving the supraspinous ligament over such a large area... who would dare to operate?

The damage from the surgery itself could be far worse than the damage from the condition.

Only the Small Needle Knife, combined with the Eye of All-Seeing, could minimize this damage. It was the only real way to solve problems like this.

"Michael, perhaps we should discuss this," the assistant said quietly.

Even though Chen Yu had a great reputation, just looking at that long needle was enough to know the treatment wouldn’t be simple.

Besides, Michael Jackson wasn’t some ordinary patient. If something went wrong with the treatment, who knew how many people and how much capital would suffer the consequences.

"Don’t worry, Michael. I’ve handled similar cases..." Chen Yu knew Michael Jackson’s concerns and was about to explain when he was interrupted.

Michael Jackson smiled faintly. "Chen, you are a good person, and I trust you. So, I am willing to accept the treatment."