What is Pulse Taking in Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Pulse taking is an important and unique aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Your practitioner may ask to take your pulse during an appointment, as it is a traditional, experienced method for measuring the rhythm, rate, depth, and force of the pulse. This analysis provides valuable insights into your life and health, as it reveals pathways to the body's twelve meridians, incorporating yin, yang, and qi channels (for more information on the exact locations on the body, review this article).

Traditionally, pulse taking is one of the primary diagnostic methods in Chinese medicine. It allows a practitioner to check your body's normal life signs, such as your heart rate, blood pressure, internal energy flow pattern, and also how your energy network is operating and interacting amidst your daily life. Your energy is affected by your work commitments, exercise, activities, and emotional state. Lifestyle issues such as stress, irregular eating patterns, an unhealthy lifestyle, and emotionally charged activities such as drug use, can greatly affect your energy. Sometimes, parts of your body's systems may be overworking, or some inefficiently used, leading to bodily imbalance. These changes can be reflected in your pulse.

What to Expect from Pulse Taking?

Practitioners take time and focus to analyse your pulse in multiple places. The most common place to check your pulse is near the wrist, however, the pulse can also be checked from the arteries on the neck, on top of the foot, and on the inside of the ankle. For checking the pulse on the wrist, one or both hands can be checked at the same time, typically with three fingers just under the palm of each hand. Different parts of your wrist can reflect your health in different areas of your body along the meridians. When the three fingers are placed on the wrist, the finger closest to the palm matches up with the upper organs in your body, the middle finger position aligns with the middle organs int he body, and the lower finger (closest to your elbow) is paired with the lower organs. These three sections of organs and bodily functions can be analysed through the pulse checking technique.

What does Pulse Taking Tell You?

The speed, strength, quality, and overall sensation of the smoothness and vessel can be combined in the analysis of the pulse. Not only does TCM assess the typical pulse, but also 28 different pulse qualities, which can reflect important information surrounding a patient's health and wellbeing. The most commonly analysed pulses are: a fast pulse, which shows that there is heat in the body such as an inflammatory condition or increased stress on the nervous system; a slow pulse, which implies that the body is cold, representing a potential inefficiency within the body; a weak pulse, which indicates that there may be a deficiency in the body; and a strong pulse, which means that there is an excess in the body. The width of the pulse can also be analysed, as a thin or wiry pulse can indicate a fluid deficiency, which is often associated with fatigue, insomnia, and nutrient deficiencies; while a slippery pulse could indicate a build up or blockage within the body, which is often accompanied by digestive and sinus problems.

So when your practitioner is checking your pulse in your TCM appointments, they are checking your rhythm of life diagnosis, which means that your internal rhythms and the engagement of your energy and bodily functions is being considered. However, it is a combination of factors which reveals the most information.

Your practitioner will take into account all aspects of your health to holistically inform and support your health journey.