Palpation in Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion: part 1 the significance of touch
Item
Title
Palpation in Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion: part 1 the significance of touch
Description
NAJOM (2017), Shu-ichi, Katai
Abstract
1. The current situation of palpation in Japan. Since touching patients is such an essential component of the practice of acupuncture and moxibustion (hereafter acu-moxa), some may take palpation for granted. Yet it cannot be simple taken for granted when we question how much palpation is emphasized in a practice, or how much it is actually employed. We cannot just casually state that every practitioner in Japan uses palpation. In the practice of East Asian medicine, patients are examined using the four examinations - looking, listening, questioning, and touching. The first three of these exams - looking, listening, and questioning, are conducted without touching in most cases. But of course, if during the questioning a patient complains of pain, sometimes we continue the questioning exam as we touch the area and ask "Does it hurt here?" So it may not be entirely correct to say that questioning does not include touching. Nevertheless, looking, listening, and questioning are essentially not about touching. Touching (palpation) is a method of directly contacting the body to examine it. Touching is comprehensive examination that includes pulse diagnosis, abdominal diagnosis, back diagnosis, as well as palpation of the meridians, vessels, and collateral vessels in order to determine the deficiency and excess of the whole body.
Alternative Title
NAJOM
Creator
Date
Language
English
issue
71
page end
6
page start
3
volume
24