đź’“ Finger Techniques for Pulse Diagnosis
For the last several weeks I've been locking myself in a closet to work on a pulse diagnosis course. So far I'm just writing scripts and making handouts, but hopefully I'll start recording videos in a week or two.
In the meantime, here's a little tidbit about the different finger techniques you can use when taking the pulse (this is something I was never taught in school).
Basically, the first module of this course is about the logistics of taking the pulse: when to take the pulse, how to position the patient, and how to place your fingers. As part of this, we'll discuss the different ways you can use your fingers in order to feel the various aspects of the pulse.
Finger Techniques for Taking the Pulse
I feel like when I was learning take the pulse, they kind of just said, "These are the 28 pulse images, now put your fingers on the wrist and see what you feel."
And I kind of assumed that once you found the pulse, you just kept your fingers still and meditated for like 30 seconds (or several minutes if you really wanted to look like you knew what you were doing).
It wasn't until much later that I realized that you can move your fingers around to better feel the different aspects of the pulse and the vessel. And it turns out that these techniques actually have names in Chinese! Why didn't anybody ever teach me that?
(It really wasn't my teachers' fault; it turns out that all of this is clearly listed in Maciocia. I just didn't read that chapter...)
Searching
With the Searching method, you don't actually move the fingers. Just find the dominant signal of the pulse and keep your fingers there. This is useful for counting the beats to determine if the rate is slow, normal, or rapid.
Pressing and Lifting
Pressing means gently increasing the pressure and pressing the fingers down towards the bone. Lifting means gently decreasing the pressure and lifting the finger up towards the skin.
Pressing and Lifting can help you determine the depth of the pulse (Superficial, Deep, or Hidden). Also, sometimes the pulse is hollow in the middle: it may have force at the superficial level, but that force disappears as soon as you press in.
When you want to evaluate the wall of the vessel to determine if it is Wiry or Tight, you may need to lift slightly in order to feel the vessel itself. If you want to examine the smoothness of flow to determine if the pulse is Slippery or Choppy, you may need to press slightly to make sure you're feeling the full wave of the pulse.
Pushing
Pushing means moving the fingers side-to-side across the wrist (medial-lateral) in order to feel around the vessel. This can help in determining the width of the vessel (is it Thin/Fine/Thready or is it Large) and also feel the status of the vessel wall (e.g. Wiry or Tight).
Rolling or Sliding
Rolling or Sliding (different books use different translations) refers to moving the fingers up and down the wrist (proximal-distal). This can help in feeling if the pulse is Long or Short.
So when you're taking the pulse, don't just sit there and try to visualize pearls rolling on a plate or a silkworm eating a leaf; move your fingers a little bit to feel the different aspects of the pulse.
Download the Handout:
If you want a short handout that summarizes these techniques, you can download it here (this is one of the handouts I made for the course):
The second module of the Pulse Diagnosis course focuses on examining the pulse according to its Rate, Depth, Strength, and Quality. If you're interested in that, you can also download the first handout for that module.
This handout also includes information about finger techniques and how they can be used to determine rate, depth, strength, and quality:
These are just rough drafts, so let me know if you have any feedback. That way I can make them better when the course finally comes out.
