Laura’s Pulse and Tongue Diagnosis

Elizabeth Spicher of Geneva’s recently-opened Integrated Natural Medicine performed a pulse and tongue diagnosis followed by ear acupuncture on Laura, the Suburban Woman publisher. We’ll walk you through these traditional Chinese medicine techniques and find out Laura’s results!

Initial Evaluation:
Laura was first asked a series of questions relating to these topics: body temperature, eyes, ears, allergies, mouth, thirst, headaches, body pain and sleep. By answering these questions about herself, Laura gave Elizabeth clues into what organs may be functioning improperly and what may be out of balance in the body. Is there excess or a deficiency in the body? There are five elements in Chinese medicine that affects the body’s balance: fire, wind, earth, wood, water and metal. Each element is associated with a part of the body. If there is an imbalance in one or more of these elements, it can either cause an excess, deficiency or both in the body.

Pulse Test:
Firs,t the pulse test was taken on both of Laura’s arms. Elizabeth felt the different depths of the pulse and how it hits her fingers, as well as the strength and quality of the pulse. Each arm represents a different part of the body. The results of Laura’s pulse were a weak, thin, hard-to-find pulse, which can mean several things–one of which was that she may be “overdoing it” with her busy lifestyle. Another possibility is that she could be getting sick. Elizabeth’s recommendation was to find a consistent stress reliever, such as medication, and to start on some draining herbs to help clean out her body.

Tongue Evaluation:
Elizabeth examined Laura’s tongue looking at texture, color, veins and coating. The evaluation discovered that Laura had a light pink and purple tongue, a slight coat and light foaminess. This concludes Laura may have excess fluid in the body and retains fluid easily. She also may have a Yin deficiency with too much stomach fire, so she tends to be hungry often.

Ear Acupuncture:
Finally, Elizabeth performed acupuncture on Laura’s ear. The ears are trigger points to the entire body, so she focused on Laura’s weak areas, including the liver, stomach, mouth, pancreas and gallbladder. She also worked with the Shen-Men point, which promotes overall calming of the body.

Final Diagnosis:
According to Elizabeth, Laura’s overall diagnosis is that she has a wood and earth imbalance, which causes her to have excess in the liver due to deficiencies in the body. With her treatment, Elizabeth focused on nourishing the liver and bringing more chi to the body, which should help Laura with both stress and stomach issues.

Integrated Natural Medicine is a husband and wife team that believes in finding a unique and natural health plan for each of their patients to ensure they live life to the fullest. Their list of services includes chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, soft tissue and physical therapeutics, functional rehabilitation and nutritional and dietary counseling. For more information about Integrated Natural Medicine, visit them online or call (331) 248-0657 today to schedule an appointment.

Tagged as: ear acupuncture, elizabeth, geneva, integrated natural medicine, pulse test, spicher, tongue evaluation