How does Pulse diagnosis work?
There are generally five aspects of the pulse that are assessed during a pulse diagnosis:
1. Rate: The rate of the pulse is measured in beats per minute and can indicate the overall health of the heart and cardiovascular system. Normally when the rate is high, people tend to feel hot; while when it is low, people tend to feel cold.
2. Rhythm: The rhythm of the pulse can indicate whether there are any irregularities in the heart’s electrical activity.
3. Level: The floating or sinking of the vasculature usually indicates the location of the disease. A floating pulse indicates a disease on the surface of the body, while a sinking pulse indicates a weakness of the body’s organs.
4. Speed: The speed of blood in the veins explains the state of water and fluid metabolism. If it comes and goes fluently, it means that the metabolism is vigorous, and if it is a little slower, it means that some metabolic products are deposited locally. If it is too slow, it means there is blood stasis. If it is too fast, it indicates phlegm.
5. Resilience: The elasticity of the vasculature reveals the state of pneumatic flow. If it is like a rubber band, it means that emotional excitement is blocking the Qi flow. If the tension of the chakra is particularly high, it means that an external cold is affecting the tendons of the body. If the pulse is very soft, it means that metabolic products are being retained.
Based on the findings of the pulse diagnosis, the practitioner can then develop a treatment plan that may include acupuncture, herbal remedies, dietary changes, and other modalities used in traditional medicine.
Through the pulse, what can a practitioner tell?
Here are some example:
A Practitioner can tell impressions that certain part of the body has pain.
A Practitioner can tell impressions that a woman is pregnant.
A Practitioner can tell impressions of kidney /gallbladder stones or other nodules like cancer.
A Practitioner can tell impressions of inflammation of certain part of the body.
And many other conditions. Although they are just impressions. because it has chances that the pulse was influenced by other factors so the pulse cannot be used alone, but should not be used as the sole method of diagnosis, except when the patient lost consciousness.
Is the practitioners able to find out all the health problem through pulse?
The identification of the pulse takes a lot of time. So usually the acupuncturist only makes a general judgment first, looking for any obvious pain in the body, and starts with the most abnormal location,ex, upper potion, lower potion of the body, so the most detected are the most troubling ones at the moment.
Chronic problems, on the other hand, require multiple visits and intentional searching before they are known.
For example, mastitis. Unless one waits quietly for more than 20 seconds in a specific location, it will not be detected. Therefore, the acupuncturist must first suspect that the person has mastitis, then repeatedly find the location, and then wait quietly to find out.
