Pulse Palpation (Pulse Diagnosis) In TCM

In Western Medicine, pulse diagnosis is only used as an analysis of heart rate and regularity; however, in Chinese Medicine, pulse diagnosis is also used for many other things such as examining internal organs and detecting if any abnormalities exist, and in turn indicating various conditions within a patient’s body.
 

There are a total of 28 common pulses, for example: the Fu Mai (floating, superficial), Dong Mai (moving, throbbing, and stirring) and Wei Mai (minute, faint, and indistinct). Pulse and tongue diagnosis are two of the fundamental TCM methods of diagnosis. Both are used to analyse the patient’s condition so that the doctor can accordingly prescribe suitable treatment.
 

Although tongue diagnosis can help practitioners obtain valuable medical information, diagnosis through pulse palpation can supplement this by providing doctors with information that is otherwise unobtainable through tongue diagnosis, giving them a better picture of the patient’s condition. Even basic levels of pulse palpation can provide accurate, immediate and specific information on clarification of a patient’s conditions and circumstances.
 

Pulse palpation stems from early practitioners of TCM, who at the time didn’t have access to modern technology such as X-rays and ultrasounds. It was found to be very effective in gaining information and diagnosing individual patients. There existed, and continue to exist many different methods of pulse palpation.
 

In my consultations, I use the pulse palpation method of diagnosis and analysis with every patient. I have found it to be very effective, as it presents a lot of information about the patient’s condition. I have participated in various seminars and workshops both in Australia and internationally, to help improve my pulse palpation skills over time. In all, I have found pulse palpation to be extremely useful in diagnosing and helping treat patients.