You Want Me to Stick My Tongue Out?

This is quite a common response that we receive from our patients on a first visit. Tongue Diagnosis is major part of the diagnostic process that helps us to really get a better understanding of your health. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the tongue gives us a direct reflection of how your internal organs are functioning.

By looking at the tongue we are looking for key characteristics that are showing up as a root cause for all your symptoms. We take into consideration the tongue body shape, color and if there is a coating. A normal tongue has light red or pink color with a thin coat. By looking at the tongue body color we are able to determine the functioning of the yin organs such as the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and liver. Some color indications can be reddish-purple, this tells us there is a stagnation in the channels and the patient is experiencing pain in part of the body or the whole body. If a patient presents a pale tongue body color this represents a deficiency in blood or Qi and in some circumstances it can be a deficiency in both aspects.

The tongue coating gives us a reflection about the yang organs more so relating to the functions of the stomach. The stomach and spleen are in charge of digestion in TCM and the coating gives us an indication if the digestion process is impaired or if it is functioning at it’s optimal performance. In TCM digestion relates to many symptoms and disorder that is why it is a key factor in our diagnostic process.

Throughout the treatment protocol, we take note of changes that occur in the tongue presentation. As a patient begins to heal, the internal organs change and as a result, it changes the characteristics of the tongue. We are able to determine the progress of a patient sometimes even before the patient can notice a significant change. So the next time an acupuncturist asks you to stick out your tongue you’ll know that your body is communicating a wealth of information and the practitioner will be able to create a tailored treatment just for you.

On this link there is a great example of the tongue viewed in TCM

https://www.sacredlotus.com/go/diagnosis-chinese-medicine/get/tongue-diagnosis-chinese-medicine