The pack comes with the map of the body and the pressure points used in acupuncture, telling me where to place the patches. I sometimes see red dots on your tongue and this signifies the energy pattern of empty heat this often accompanies a yin deficiency pattern. Giovanni maciocia acupuncture tongue diagnosis part 10 red. Understanding tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine midwest. Geographic tongue is an inflammatory but harmless condition affecting the surface of your tongue. Understanding diagnostic reasoning in tcm practice. A normal tongue is moist and has an appropriate red color. Sides of your tongue the sides of your tongue display the wood element. Tongue diagnosis is a very traditional and effective method which has been used to diagnose diseases for over two thousand years. Tongue diagnosis in tcm is comprehensive and much information can be gathered from it such as the degree of the pathogenic factor and the state of. Be sure to check out the free ebook on the top 5 acupuncture points on the left side of the page.
Tongue diagnosis in tcm beachside community acupuncture. Pulse and tongue diagnosis is often a part of the first acupuncture appointment, and always part of our herbal consultations. The best sleeping position for back pain, neck pain, and sciatica tips from a physical therapist duration. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are two of the most important diagnostic tools used in chinese medicine. Sep 28, 2016 understanding tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine jennifer dubowsky, lac, is a licensed acupuncturist with a practice in downtown chicago, illinois, since 2002. Tongue the tongue is one of the major pillars of diagnosis, the other main one being the pulse. The tongue is normally covered with tiny, pinkishwhite bumps. Changes in the tongue color usually reflect chronic illness.
Generally the tongue, is much easier to learn and less subjective than pulse diagnosis. The chart above gives a glimpse into chinese tongue diagnosis. Causes of papillae hypertrophy or inflammation include, for example. In addition to acupuncture, treatments may also include heat therapy, herbal prescriptions, nutritional supplements, and diet and lifestyle advice. Geographic tongue results from the loss of tiny hairlike projections papillae on your tongue s surface. I learn a lot about a patients health from examining their tongue.
As you look at your tongue then, check the following regularly, note their location on the tongue, as well as any changes over time. Tongue diagnosis in acupuncture february 19, 2014 in tongue diagnosis by mairead when you visit an acupuncturist for the first time, you will go through a huge amount of questions involving diet, stress factors, lifestyle choices, past medical history, etc, but one of the most astonishing things you will be asked to do is. How tongue diagnosis works by transformational acupuncture. The tongue is a map of the body in chinese medicine. Pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis are widely used in traditional chinese medicine. Tongue diagnosis is an important part of the chinese medicine.
With geographic tongue, patches on the surface of the tongue are missing papillae and appear as smooth, red islands, often with slightly raised borders. A scalloped tongue one with ridges on the outside edge indicates fluid retention. Thorough and clinicallyoriented, this text describes the principles of tongue diagnosis in great detail. The treatment of diseases with acupuncture and chinese herbs, 2e. However, sometimes your symptoms might occur due to an underlying ailment that requires medical treatment. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese. As you continue treatment with acupuncture and herbs, your overall health will improve, and it will be reflected in your tongue.
Tongue and pulse diagnosis are two of the more important diagnostic tools in chinese medicine. However, the most likely pattern is that of liverblood stasis. See more ideas about chinese medicine, traditional chinese medicine and acupuncture. Spleen qi deficiency, especially if teeth marks on the sides or damp heat. Tongue diagnosis is used all the time by acupuncturists and practitioners trained in chinese medicine it is an important way to diagnose a patients health and sometimes can be crucial in deciding what to do first. Apr 25, 20 when a practitioner of tcm looks at a patients tongue heshe is looking at many things such as the tongue body, shape, movement, coating as well as the yin and yang organs reflected on the tongue. We specialize in using acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, diet, and lifestyle changes to create health and alleviate or eliminate uncomfortable symptoms and. If there are red spots with a thin coat, this usually indicates damage to the ying or xue level.
Dark red, bruised spots or patches, blood stasis with heat. Tongue diagnosis in acupuncture mairead fahy body matters. You can also get a pulse and tongue diagnosis checkup as part of a holistic health counseling appointment. Tongue diagnosis is one of the most ancient and highly reliable techniques for discerning a patients root cause of a disease. The two large, elevated papilla on the back of the tongue are a normal part of the taste buds. The appearance and qualities of the tongue is a critical part of diagnosis in chinese medicine tcm. Jun 14, 2016 the tongue is a map of the body in chinese medicine.
But once we know what the symptoms are then the tongue is useful in finding the right formula. For most new patients, it seems odd to stick out your tongue at someone. White tongue is the result of an overgrowth and swelling of the fingerlike projections papillae on the surface of your tongue. Each area represents the current state of health of its designated organ and organ system. Inspection and tongue study methods in tcm shennong.
Knowledge of tongue diagnosis is one of the unique treasures of traditional chinese medicine tcm. Theyre bioelectromagnetic patches that contain high purity zinc and cooper in a magnetic field. The aims of this study were to 1 understand cognitive strategies and diagnostic reasoning processes of tcm practitioners engaged in tongue diagnosis and 2 investigate tcm practitioners. Tongue analysis can be used in complement with pulse, nail, and facial diagnosis in order to really see what is going on. Tongue diagnosis is a key factor in creating a chinese medical diagnosis. Dec 22, 2019 the tongue, according to ayurveda, is a strong diagnostic tool for looking at ones systemic health. I can often tell when someone smokes, or has been drinking a lot of alcohol by the state of the tongue.
Tongue and pulse reading according to chinese medicine. Tongue assessment in traditional chinese medicine verywell health. Tongue diagnosis is an important part of the chinese medical assessment. Tongue diagnosis is more traditionally associated with organ diagnosis, and herbal formula prescriptions whereas pulse diagnosis is more traditionally associated with meridian diagnosis and acupuncture prescriptions.
In fact, im surprised when acupuncturists dont use it. It can be a strong indicator of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. Some of this can be affected by what a person did that day. Tongue diagnosis is a primary method in chinese medicine for. Excerpt from demystifying chinese medicine class 4, taught by danny geren, l. The tongue reflects the health of the internal organs and blood circulation. Webmd symptom checker helps you find the most common symptom combinations and medical conditions related to white patches on tongue.
The appearance of a white coating is caused by debris, bacteria and dead cells getting lodged between the enlarged and sometimes inflamed papillae. Learning to read the 28 pulses that are an essential part of chinese medicine diagnosis takes years of study and practice. Red spots on the sides of the tongue livergallbladder area may also indicate a more severe illness. By observing the body, color and coating of the tongue, a practitioner can easily understand underlying conditions and ailments and make a prognosis for the healing course. You may also notice a bluishgreen or purplish hue or spots in this zone. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Acupuncture what to expect, pulse, tongue diagnosis. The tongue is such an important diagnostic tool for chinese medicine. Soothing music will be played to help you relax during this time many people even fall asleep during treatment. Mar 18, 20 tongue diagnosis is more traditionally associated with organ diagnosis, and herbal formula prescriptions whereas pulse diagnosis is more traditionally associated with meridian diagnosis and acupuncture prescriptions. Colour of the tongue body, including red prickles or black dots coating on the tongue surface colour, thickness, dryness or moistness of the coating shape of the tongue fissurescracks in the tongue. The tongue is an important useful organ for many animals. During an examination, the overall tongue coating, shape, and color is taken into account. The color, coating, shape and texture of various parts of the tongue yield information about the state of the organs. My question to you is why do you keep closing your eyes when you stick your tongue out. The first area is the front portion of the tongue, which is related to the organs of the chest the heart and lungs. Tongue diagnosis traditional chinese medicine and acupuncture.
Each of the major aspects of the tongue body color, shape and coating and its relationship to the diagnostic process is described systematically. Red spots on the entire tongue may indicate a more severe illness. They are both used to derive a tcm diagnosis for your condition which is used to plan your treatment. It is especially important in confirming the tcm diagnosis.
Giovanni maciocia discusses tongue diagnosis, including the. The tongue is normally covered with tiny, pinkishwhite bumps papillae, which are actually short, fine, hairlike projections. The tongue body is also swollen which indicates the presence of phlegm. In tcm, its thought that different areas of the tongue reflect the health of five corresponding organ systems.
May 29, 2017 the tongue reflects how a persons body is balanced, generally in a more longterm way than pulse diagnosis. Teeth markings on the sides of the tongue usually mean stagnant energy in the liver network. In this case, the tongue colour is consistent over the whole tongue so we cannot determine from the tongue alone where the blood stasis is located. In this article i am going to share with you knowledge about tongue diagnosis. This papillae loss appears as smooth, red patches of varying shapes and sizes. My community acupuncture patients sometimes ask me what i see when i look at their tongues. The reddishpurple colour indicates blood stasis with heat.
The tongue itself usually cant tell you what formula to take. For example, if the tip of the tongue has lots of very red dots, the patient. The tongue body proper is going to give you information more about the yin organs, the blood organs in particular. During your acupuncture visit your acupuncturist will want to look at your tongue.
When looking at a patients tongue we examine the tongue body color, tongue body shape, and tongue coating. Back of your tongue the back of the tongue reflects many of the bodys functions, but is mainly the domain of the water element, or kidneybladder network, which includes the hormonal system and sexual glands. Feb 03, 2014 we specialize in using acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, diet, and lifestyle changes to create health and alleviate or eliminate uncomfortable symptoms and conditions. Click on the combination that matches your symptoms to find the conditions that may cause these problems.
Tongue diagnosis, yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue. Jul 01, 2014 tongue diagnosis is a powerful tool for me to gauge progress of a patient along with discussions of symptoms. A tongue that is pale indicates a deficiency of qi and blood or the presence of cold. This condition, also known as benign migratory glossitis, is named for the maplike pattern of reddish spots that develop on the surface of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine by giovanni maciocia. This is an excerpt of my book with over 400 acupuncture points. Why do you keep on asking me to stick my tongue out. Giovanni maciocia acupuncture tongue diagnosis part 1 introduction duration. The swelling on the sides indicates chronic spleen deficiency and the rootless coating missing in patches indicates stomachyin deficiency.
They are based on imagination, not on anatomical and physiologic reality. Needles are typically retained for about 30 minutes. It is a very accurate view into the inner health of an individual. Stress and anxiety will show up as red color and red dots on the tip of the tongue. To enlarge the chart for readability, click on it once, pause, then click on it again. Observation of the tongue, also known as tongue diagnosis, is an important procedure in tcm examination. However, your chinese medicine practitioner will talk to you about your pulse diagnosis, and the most common descriptions are. Introduction to chinese medicine diagnosis chinese medicine diagnosis is made by integrating a myriad of symptoms. Tongue color varies widely from person to person, but is a good indicator of the overall nature of what is going on in the body. A red tongue indicates that there is heat present in the body, and the redder the tongue, the greater amount of heat present. A misguided study to test the reliability of traditional. Tongue diagnosis is involved, but below youll find a shortish list of what an acupuncturist is observing. This guide is a basic reference for participants of the introduction to chinese tongue diagnosis workshop with belfast community acupuncture, culture night belfast 20. A misguided study to test the reliability of traditional chinese medicine pulse diagnosis.
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