It takes practice this abdominal diagnosis method. It is not just a matter of feeling where there is tension, or where the patient experiences discomfort. Getting a sense of how differences in skin, moisture, innate muscular tension, where there is fullness, and how emptiness can be easily not found are all part of the process.
The more I touch patient’s abdomens, the more I approach it with a sense of inquire and curiosity, rather than with the demand to find something, the more I discover patterns and presentations that at times lead to a clear sense of a patient needs, and at other times leads to further questions.
Here is part two of the abdominal palpation article that Steve Clavey and I did last year. It originally was written in Japanese, translated to Chinese where I found it in Taiwan, and then appeared for the first time in English in The Lantern, which of course, you are already subscribed to.
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In the abd diagnosis ii article Lower abdomen strained, striated and tight section I am confused. The article refers to illustration 12 which shows tightness in the lower abdomen only, then refers ti iluustration 12 again but talks about the tightness extending all along the rectus abdominis which would be more illustration 9, then you talk about the Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan pattern which again is referenced on illustration 12. Is there a typo, this paragraph is not at all clear
Ellen- good point, the English is a bit unclear here. Unfortunately, I do not have the original Chinese text as that is locked away in a storage locker in the USA. Let me see if can clarify this for you. That is being referred to here in illustration 12 is tightness and stringy feeling to the rectus abdominus muscles in the lower abdomen. This is the presentation for using jin gui shen qi wan. This tightness of the lower rectus abdominus muscles can extend somewhat into the upper part of the abdomen. So you need to pay attention and other signs and symptoms. Tight rectus abdominus muscles in general are a sign for using cinnamon twig family formulas. Note illustrations 9 and 10 which both are representative of cinnamon twig based formulas. Basically, if the tightness is just below the navel and there are kidney signs, this is a confirmation for using jin gui shen qi wan.