Your First Acupuncture Visit

What to Expect from Traditional Chinese Medicine

As acupuncture grows in popularity, more and more Americans have questions about the TraditionalChinese Medical system and just what to expect at a typical visit.

Even after a visit, patients may leave with more questions than when they came in and confusion or worry about what their acupuncturist is assessing with their different and somewhat peculiar intake and evaluation.

10 questions health assessment

Most visits will start with focused assessment of the individual’s chief complaint, which is to be expected at any medical visit. From there on, things begin to take a different turn. The acupuncturist will then go through their own version of the traditional “10 Question” review of systems and health evaluation. This covers all aspects of your health. It addresses physical concerns like pains, sleep, energy, digestion, heart and lung function etc., but also looks at constitutional aspects of your health. This can includes qualities like your body temperature, mood, emotions, strengths and weaknesses within your system.

Stick out your tongue!

Perhaps the oddest part of the visit for most patients is when the practitioner kindly asks them to stick out their tongue. Why does the acupuncturist do this? The tongue is an immensely useful tool for evaluating health, confirming the TCM diagnosis and monitoring treatments. It gives them a window to view what is going on inside the body and can directly reflect the health of the gut and GI system. Furthermore, differences in shape, color, size, geography and coating are all connected to different disharmonies within the body. If you don’t believe this, begin to monitor to your tongue at home and you will be amazed at the various changes it can undergo, especially when you are coming down with something or not feeling your best.

Detailed pulse evaluation

Another attention drawing aspect of the visit is the unique form of pulse taking that is very different and often longer than at the conventional doctor’s office. Some TCM practitioners will take up to several minutes thoroughly palpating the pulse in the three positions on both wrists. Patients often get anxious and joke “Am I dead? Can you not find the pulse?” In TCM, much more than the rate is evaluated. The strength, vessel tension, depth, length, character and beat pattern are all important indicators and linked to different aspects of health, organs and areas of the body.

A contribution from  Lindsay Chimileski for NaturalNews.com.