{"id":4275,"date":"2022-02-11T12:16:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activeherb.com\/blog\/?p=4275"},"modified":"2025-02-25T10:03:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T18:03:30","slug":"the-8-diagnostic-principles-of-tcm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.activeherb.com\/blog\/the-8-diagnostic-principles-of-tcm.html","title":{"rendered":"The 8 Diagnostic Principles of TCM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>To the layperson, acupuncturists and Doctors of Oriental Medicine are fonts of encyclopedic knowledge, using several complex diagnostic tools under their belt such as pulse diagnosis. But they also have a secret to help \u201cnurse\u201d their patients back to balance that\u2019s shockingly so simple: The 8 Principles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 8 principles of diagnosis in TCM are four pairs of opposites. Even the most confounding, complex cases can be brought back to balance using these simple 8 principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Achieve Optimal Yin\/Yang Balance With The 8 Diagnostic Principles of TCM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The easiest concept to understand in TCM is that optimal health depends on Yin\/Yang balance. But surprise, surprise, because of stress, it\u2019s very easy for that balance to be knocked off-kilter. And when Yin\/Yang falls out of balance, the following 3 functional operating systems or entities as they\u2019re known in TCM are effected:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif;line-height: 1.6;font-size: 18px;\"><li><strong>5 Fundamental Substances<\/strong>: Qi (energetic life force circulating through the body); Blood; bodily fluids; Jing (essence; the soul and physical life force; the will to live); and Shen (spirit and seat of consciousness)<br><\/li><li><strong>Organ systems<\/strong><br><\/li><li><strong>Meridians<\/strong>: Energy \u201cpipelines\u201d through which Qi flows<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These entities perform all the critical functions of the body. But when one of these functional entities isn\u2019t working correctly, health suffers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how does a TCM practitioner help their patient get back to balance? By using the 8 Principles to pinpoint where disharmony in the body originates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are The 8 Diagnostic Principles of TCM?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>They are so simple that a child can understand them; at least a pretty sharp kid anyway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 8 Principles are four pairs of opposites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"font-family: 'Lato', sans-serif;line-height: 1.6;font-size: 18px;\"><li>Yin\/Yang<\/li><li>Internal\/External<\/li><li>Cold\/Hot<\/li><li>Deficiency\/Excess<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The last three pairs on the above list are all governed by Yin and Yang. Cold, deficiency and internal are Yin qualities while their opposites are Yang.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To examine a patient\u2019s diagnostic patterns, TCM uses these 4 pairs to assess what\u2019s going on behind the scenes. Let\u2019s dive in and \u201cplay TCM doctor\u201d with an example.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cold\/Hot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously, if a person presents with fever, that\u2019s a sure fire indication of heat (hot). But there are several other heat-related conditions such as rapid pulse, sore throat, dark urine, rashes and green mucus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"x-short-quote-right\">To examine a patient\u2019s diagnostic patterns, TCM uses these 4 pairs to assess what\u2019s going on behind the scenes. <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, nausea, runny stool, discomfort in the abdominal area, vomiting or diarrhea are cold patterns. And so is the obvious example of catching a cold.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These symptoms are indications that cold is combined with the principle of interior (internal). However, when the principles of cold and external are present, the patient may experience body chills and soreness in the muscles and joints.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Internal\/External<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Where did the disharmony of Yin\/Yang energies originate? This is the core concept of internal and external. An easy example of disharmony originating from the exterior are airborne influences that cause runny noses, coughing and the like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, using the 8 principles of diagnostics in TCM, if a patient presents with persistent digestive problems, this is a clear indication of internal disharmony of the Spleen or Stomach organ system.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deficiency\/Excess<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>How is your level of Qi, Blood and Yin\/Yang in the body? Do you have too much, not enough or the perfect Goldilocks zone?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to feel fabulously fit with plenty of vim and vigor, you need to have the right amount of these precious substances. Deficiency means you don\u2019t have enough of one or more of the three precious substances, while excess of any of the three can result in stagnation. (You can think of stagnation as a traffic jam; nothing is moving.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dizziness is an easy example relating to deficiency of Blood. Deficiency in Qi results in feeling sluggish.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, simple examples of excess include swelling if there\u2019s too much of any fluid in a particular area of the body. Mucus and phlegm are also indications of excess in the body.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Yin\/Yang<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>All three pairs of patterns above contain Yin and Yang elements. If a patient presents with a diagnostic pattern of night sweats or hot flashes, this indicates a deficiency of Yin. In this case, the TCM practitioner may prescribe a formula to \u201ccool the engines\u201d of the patient with a <a class=\"retail-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.activeherb.com\/yin-tonic\">Yin tonic<\/a><a class=\"ahw-link\" style=\"display:none;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.activeherbwholesale.com\/concern\/yin-tonic\/\" target=\"_parent\">Yin tonic<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Now that you understand the 8 Principles of Diagnosis in TCM, you\u2019re not exactly ready to receive your DOM (Doctorate of Oriental medicine). However, the basics of this thousands-of-years-old method of achieving balance remains the TCM practitioner\u2019s equivalent of the Western doctor\u2019s stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, digital thermometer and that thingy that whacks you on the knee to check your reflexes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traditional Chinese Medicine contains very esoteric concepts. But when it comes to determining your health, TCM uses 8 simple diagnostic tools. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 8 Diagnostic Principles of TCM - Activeherb Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 8 diagnostic principles of TCM are esoteric to the layperson. 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