Acupuncture can be a part of your health maintenance program. Many times patients come in either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly to receive an Acupuncture/Massage combination treatment. It’s a retreat from the hectic lifestyle and pace we as New Yorkers tend to live.
A true health maintenance program essentially includes knowing a person well through an accurate health history and physical examination. Many first time patients will spend approximately 75min in the treatment room to help sort out their health issues and lifestyle patterns of sleep, exercise, work, play and eating habits. With a strong informative background, the personal treatment plan is calculated and a course of action is taken. Patterns in Chinese medicine are an essential part of diagnostic skills that are sorted by Visual Inspection, Listening, Smelling, Inquiry and Palpation (touching) examination. All of these examinations are broken down into very specific analytical protocols.
The examination of the pulse, the eyes, the tongue and the abdomen are instrumental diagnostic areas. For example, the pulse examination is not just the rate of the pulse but the quality of the pulse. There are many types of pulse sensations a practitioner can use for diagnostic purposes. For example, A wiry pulse which is felt as if a guitar taut string is slapping against the practitioners finger tips can indicate several physical conditions such a person experiencing distress on any level whether it be psychological ,emotional or physical pain. The blood and Qi (life energy) is not circulating properly in the vessel because of stagnation from a form of stress. In Chinese medical terms; “The blood is not supporting/ grounding the qi”. This wiry sensation does not necessarily mean the person has high blood pressure which would obviously be measured with a blood pressure cuff to support findings. The tongue is another important diagnostic area. Corresponding areas of the tongue including the tip, the center, the root (the back of tongue) and the sides of the tongue relate to a specific part of the internal landscape of the digestive body. The coating, the color, the shape, the moisture, the movement, all correspond to different health patterns in the body. For example, a red tongue body or red prickles on the tongue represents heat in the body. In addition, the abdomen and Acupuncture meridians or channel pathways along the body can be examined by palpation and visual examination. Warmth, tenderness, cold, moisture, dryness, firmness, softness, depressions, different colors, scarring and raised areas can indicate body processes whether healthy or pathological.
Can you start to experience the complexity of the inspection process with an Acupuncturist? The attention to detail in the examination is what makes this art form of medicine fascinating because much of the information can be detected without getting any high-tech tests. Historically speaking, Chinese medicine solely relied upon these examination features for thousands of years. May your Spring days be filled with Happiness and Good Health. May you maintain your body and mind regularly with proper, nutrition, exercise and a sense of community with friends and family.