Illness

In five element acupuncture, illness occurs when the officials are unable to overcome either internal, such as excessive emotions, or external, such as injuries, surgery, climatic conditions, or inherited perverse energies. What appears to a physician at the onset of a present illness is often a combination of a long sequence of energetic disturbances in the officials of the elements.

A five element acupuncture physician in the physical examination focuses on the correspondences available to the patient, facial color, the sound of the voice, emotions expressed, the odor of the torso, and the general presentation of the person. Importance is made in the traditional pulse diagnosis with the emphasis on the individualization of the twelve officials. The history is thorough and complete and emphasizes chronological events. The goal of the evaluation is to determine the official which is the causative factor, that aspect of the energetic system which is at the root of the imbalance overall for the patient.

The causative factors are either inherited or an acquired condition. If acquired it is often the result of childhood experiences that created disequilibrium. Traumas from the physical, emotional, infectious, and climatic nature will then bring on the causative factor or pathological state with the symptoms occurring then.