How Does an Acupuncture Practitioner Diagnose?

Most Americans know that acupuncture has something to do with healing diseases by using needles. These needles are used to redirect and restore optimal circulation of the life force, known as "Qi", within the body. A person with a mental, physical, or emotional problem has the flow of Qi hindered at one or more points, and effective use of needles will change and restore that flow. One of the more suprising things at an acupuncture clinic is the way a problem can be diagnosed. In most cases, the practitioner holds the wrist of the client and takes his pulse. The pulse is observed at several different points on wrist, and the nature of the pulse is evaluated. After that comes a thorough evaluation and a plan of where to place the needles to best address the problem. There are several different qualities the acupuncture practitioner is observing in the pulse.

The patient can have up to 12 different pulse points taken. Three surface pulse points are taken on each of the wrists, and three deep pulse points are also taken on each wrist. Even an untrained person can notice the difference in pulses depending on the location and depth of the pulse point. There are many possible pulse descriptions in acupuncture, but six of the commonly encountered ones are: floating, sunken, slow, rapid, slippery, and choppy. Taking even a few people's pulses, it is easy to see how some could be described as choppy, and others as slippery.

Another very useful technique for diagnosis in acupuncture is by observing the tongue of the client. Western physicians (and mothers!) can often tell someone has a throat problem by looking at the coating on the tongue. But an acupuncture practitioner is looking at a number of aspects of the tongue: the color of the tongue (both top and sides), any cracks that might be in the tongue, swellings, the condition of the dots on the tongue, and the level of moisture. All of these things provide an illuminating picture of the state of someone's health, and indicates what the acupuncture plan should address.

One thing to remember is that, in acupuncture, a particular western medical diagnosis may not be of much help. That
is because a particular diagnosis may be caused by one of several different kinds of interruptions in the flow of Qi, and hence is not a major influence in what should be done in the acupuncture clinic. However, the acupuncture practitioner definitely wants to know how you actually feel, for this is very significant. Every symptom should be described, as well as the times they are most noticeable, and any associations that can be thought of. For example, the acupuncture practitioner should be told if pains are milder after a good night's sleep, or if headaches are worse under fluorescent lights, and other such associations.

So expect the diagnosis at an acupuncture clinic to be rather different than a diagnosis at a physician's office. The acupuncture practitioner is not looking just at the particular problem, but how your organs and systems presently interact, one result of which is the current problem. This introduction should make you more comfortable with such a diagnosis, give you more understanding as to why your tongue is being so carefully looked at, and hopefully make you interested enough to find out more about it.

Comments

By Benjamin Leere90028dbleer@asbestos.come90028dhttp://www.asbestos.come90028dAcupuncture Resource Suggestione90028dtruee90028dHi, [nl][nl]My name is Benjamin Leer, and I’m the National Awareness Coordinator for the Mesothelioma Center (asbestos.com). While I was browsing through a number of acupuncture and alternative medicine sites when I came across your website-- and was very impressed by the information you have listed. We are currently creating an acupuncture and alternative medicine database, and would like to list your website as a resource there.[nl][nl]With more than 3,000 pages of content, our site features information on asbestos, mesothelioma, and other cancers that are caused by asbestos exposure (lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc.). Individuals’ afflicted by these ailments are put in excruciating pain, and are forced to undergo numerous operations and chemotherapy treatments in an attempt to stop the rapacious cancer from progressing to a terminal state. Acupuncture has been linked to alleviating the nausea associated with chemotherapy and the pain incurred from the constant surgeries. [nl][nl]I noticed that you already had some other acupuncture resources listed on your resources page at acupunctureacupressure.net/links.php and figured you might be interested in including a link to our site as well. Please let me know if you are interested - I'm available by e-mail at bleer(@)asbestos.com. With your help, we can educate the public about the dangers of asbestos and hopefully save some lives. Thanks again!
31^st December 1969 - 6:00pm

Difficult to cause its less expensive prices are generally complex as announced here.

By watch accessories - Homepage
20^th August 2011 - 9:17pm

I always use wholesale makeup the same cheap Mac makeup technique cheap monster headphones and Coach handbags sale today mac makeup I thought I would Coach handbags share Kobe Bryant Shoes it ugg bailey button with ugg bailey boots you uggs sale Hermes zoom kobe 5 is Monster Headphones ranked mac cosmetics among the mac cosmetics wholesale worldit ugg bailey button triplet is Discount Coach handbags also monster dr dre headphones the nike air max symbol Bailey Button UGG Boots of uggs cheap status ?it Coach handbags outlet is really cheap uggs sale a good choice nike zoom kobe v while uggs uk you are monster beats headphones travelling and dancing

sale - By cheap monster headphones - Homepage
16^th September 2011 - 4:24am

The researchers took videos of spontaneous yawns from chimps in each group, as well as videos of the chimps

By true religion - Homepage
22^nd October 2011 - 1:52am

took videos of spontaneous yawns from chimps in each group, as well as videos of the chimps

By true religion uk - Homepage
22^nd October 2011 - 1:52am

Nice post, thanks. I signed to your blog RSS.

north face denali sale - By north face denali sale - Homepage
28^th October 2011 - 9:22pm

Do you have a herve leger dress? herve leger dresses outlet Herve Leger is one of the most famous brands in the world.

By abercrombie and fitch - Homepage
31^st October 2011 - 4:17am

The design and style of Herve Leger make women confident and fashionable.

By burberry outlet - Homepage
31^st October 2011 - 4:18am

From big stars to the ordinary housewife, owning a Herve Leger dress is all style women's dream. cheap herve leger clothing Now our herve leger 2011 is on hot sale.

By burberry - Homepage
31^st October 2011 - 4:18am

They can meet with your high request. If you want to be shining and attractive in street, you jutst need to buy one Hever Leger dress.

By abercrombie and fitch uk - Homepage
31^st October 2011 - 4:18am

Welcome to our ugg bailey button boots store!UGG Bailey Button

ugg bailey button boots - By chestnut - Homepage
9^th November 2011 - 6:04am

pandora bracelets

pandora bracelets - By pandora bracelets - Homepage
11^th November 2011 - 9:22pm

Louis Vuitton Borse

Louis Vuitton Borse - By Louis Vuitton Borse - Homepage
11^th November 2011 - 9:22pm

Louis Vuitton Borse

Louis Vuitton Borse - By Louis Vuitton Borse - Homepage
11^th November 2011 - 9:23pm

juicy couture uk

juicy couture uk - By juicy couture uk - Homepage
11^th November 2011 - 9:23pm

Timepieces that are as spectacular as Breitling watches are not designed exclusively for few famous stars and big shots in the corporation world.

By replica swiss legend watches - Homepage
20^th November 2011 - 7:02am

Thank you for your sharing

jordan shoes - By jordan shoes - Homepage
2^nd February 2012 - 12:12am

My Articles

How Does An Acupuncture Practitioner Diagnose?
Acupuncture With Herbs
Acupuncture And Children
Acupuncture And Biorhythm
Acupuncture And Women's Problems
Stress, High Blood Pressure, And Acupuncture
Acupuncture Explained, Eastern And Western
The American Academy Of Medical Acupuncture
Different Types Of Acupuncture Treatment
Yin And Yang And Acupuncture
Acupuncture And Beauty
How Many Acupuncture Treatments Will It Take?
How To Find An Acupuncture Practitioner
Organs In Western And Eastern Medicine
The Development Of Acupuncture
Acupuncture And Extreme Cases
How The Acupuncture Practitioner Uses His Needles
A Personal Experience With Acupuncture
Acupuncture And Western Medicine
Acupuncture And Electricity
Acupuncture And Pregnancy
Acupuncture And Drug Abuse
Acupuncture's Acceptance In America
What Is Acupuncture?

My Articles

Acupuncture With Herbs When most people think of acupuncture, they imagine..

Acupuncture Explained, Eastern And Western Acupuncture uses the insertion of needles to alleviate..

Acupuncture And Extreme Cases What are some extreme cases where acupuncture is useful? Let us..

Acupuncture And Biorhythm We all know something about biorhythms. Basically, a biorhythm is an..

Related Videos:

Related News:

Acupuncture Helps Menstruation & PCOS - New Research - HealthCMI

HealthCMI
Acupuncture Helps Menstruation & PCOS - New Research
HealthCMI
Researchers have discovered that both electrical and manual acupuncture “improve menstrual frequency and decrease circulating androgens in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).” PCOS is a common female endocrine disorder with side-effects ...

Acupuncture for all - Mail Tribune

Acupuncture for all
Mail Tribune
By John Darling Acupuncture treatments often cost in the neighborhood of $100 for the first visit and $60 to $70 after that, which might not seem like much if you have a good health-insurance plan that covers it. At the Rogue Valley Acupuncture Project ...

How Does an Acupuncture Practitioner Diagnose?

Comments

Menu

My Articles