Pulses: diagnosis of health in Chinese Medicine

In ancient Chinese, doctors managed to know about their patients without ultrasound, MRI, EKG, urinalysis or blood tests, etc. Without technology, intelligence and senses were so good at the point of not needing the progress of science to get an idea of what happened to the person who consulted them. Their sensitivity was the only recourse for the diagnosis, which grew every day in the mind through awareness and olfactory, visual, tactile attention, etc.

Many diseases can be felt in the pulse before showing symptoms or become apparent. Taking the pulse of a person is one way of diagnosis for many years in conventional medicine. However, "the pulse" and "Chinese pulses" are not the same. Chinese pulses are 14 and are located in different specific body parts, they are located in the protruding part of the bone (radial apophyses), and are exerting certain pressure on the artery. Each pulse corresponds to an organ or a specific function and helps diagnose and guide the patient's health status.

Chinese Pulse:

Left Wrist: located between the wrist and the apophysis.
Kidneys: deep in the kidneys.
Gallbladder: at the alveolar level, on the surface of the gallbladder,
Liver: deep in the liver.
Bladder: surface of the bladder, above the apophysis.
Right Wrist: between the wrist and the apophysis.
Small and large intestines: the surface.
Lungs: deep in the lungs.
Stomach: at the level of the alveolar
Pancreas: on medium level.
Spleen: deep in the spleen.
Triple heater (set of the digestive, respiratory and genitourinary systems): above the apophysis.
Heart: on medium level.
Sexual Organs: in depth.

Chinese pulses correspond to the 12 meridians of the Great Movement of Energy. The study of these pulses is performed over the radial artery, from the base of the thumb to one finger above the styloid apophysis.

Upper and deep pulse

The upper pulse is one that is perceived at the surface of the body and can be felt by gently resting the index and middle fingers on the right place.

The medium or deep pulse is one that requires a more pronounced pressure, which is achieved by supporting more force to feel the pulse’s deep beats.

Taking the pulse:

In order to take the pulse, the patient should be resting, preferably with an empty stomach and in the morning. You use the three middle fingers of the hand. The patient should be in front of the doctor or therapist, who will have his left hand with the patient's right and vice versa, but sometimes doctors only use their right hand and index finger to diagnose. The radial artery is divided into three segments:

Inferior Pulse: below the radial styloid pophysis, between this and the crease of the wrist. Central Pulse: located at the level of the shoulder of the radial styloid pophysis.
Superior Pulse: located above the styloid pophysis, on the side of the elbow.
In each of these segments, we must find either a superficial or deep pulse.

Chinese Pulsology (Interpretation of pulse)

Hands are extraordinary receipting or detecting what the body says and what the mind sometimes cannot understand. Visual acuity, which the patient shows through his speech, eyes, skin color, attitude, appearance of your hair, etc., is other way to find and diagnose the patient's life and the reasons of a determined condition.

One of the secrets of traditional Chinese medicine is pulse taking, where tact and sensitivity are a therapeutic method to diagnose the patient. By pulse palpation, one can know if your energy is weak, congested, fluid or exaggerated.

Taking the Pulse radio (there are other 2 regions), we can feel the energy of the 6 yin organs: kidney, lung, spleen, heart, pericardium and liver, as well as the pulse of the six viscera: stomach, large intestine and intestine, bladder (triple heater) and gallbladder.

Pulse variations

Time ago, the "pulsologists" considered themselves a sort of diviners as they could know what would happen to the patient before it did, because the pulse revealed the possible diseases.

With the pulse, you can know if there is weak or excessive energy flow, if an organ is affected, if blood supply is weak, and more.

Learning this technique may take several months or years of practice and patience, and you can learn in a traditional Chinese medicine course. However, here are some of the bases used by pulsologists to diagnose their patients:

Deep pulse: a pulse almost turned off or weak. This type of pulse tells us that there is little energy, if it is barely perceptible; there is a deficiency of blood.

Rapid pulse: evidences internal heat or fever, indicating a toxic overdose in the body (toxemia), infection, nervousness or anxiety.

Slow pulse: indicates internal cold or lack of energy. Depressed, apathetic or people with chronic fatigue tend to have this pulse.

Wide and tense pulse: the organ is congested.

Small and hard pulse with power: the body is spastic or contracted.

Weak pulse: the body is low in energy.

Remember to consult with your therapist for a more complete guide about this technique.

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