Palpation

What Is Palpation?

Palpation is when a healthcare professional uses their hands to feel part of your body. They can use palpation to feel for normal body functions. But they can also feel for changes or differences that point to a disease. Providers also use palpation to guide treatment.

Healthcare professionals learn early on that their hands are essential diagnostic tools. They can use their hands to palpate and narrow down the location of pain or an injury. They can also feel things like:

• Flexibility
• Pulse or heartbeat
• Skin moisture
• Stability of bones and joints
• Structures under your skin
• Swelling
• Temperature
• Texture
• Tissue consistency or changes

Healthcare professionals commonly learn anatomy “landmarks.” They can feel for and use those landmarks as reference points. One example is how a provider can palpate your arm or hand to feel for a vein. That lets them know where to insert an intravenous (IV) line so it goes into that vein.

Palpation is a vital part of good medical care. If you’re worried or nervous about your provider touching you, don’t hesitate to tell them that upfront. They can answer any questions you might have that might set your mind at ease. If you still aren’t comfortable being touched, you can tell your provider that. You have every right to say no.

What does palpation feel like?

Palpation can take many forms depending on the body part your provider palpates. Some examples include:

• Using their fingertips to feel for tiny differences or changes, like bumps on your skin or lumps under your skin
• Using one or both hands to feel for tissue or structure changes in a limb, like an arm or a leg, or in an extremity, like a hand or foot
• Applying gentle pressure to feel for something beneath the surface, like feeling your belly to assess the organs inside
• Placing their hand flat on a body part to feel its temperature
• Finding your pulse with their fingertips
• Feeling underneath your jaw for swelling from inflamed lymph nodes
• Using their fingers or palms to gently press on various points, trying to localize a painful area

Palpation can take many more forms, depending on:

• The body part your provider palpates
• What they’re looking for
• If they find something that doesn’t feel as expected

If you have questions about what your provider will palpate for or how they’ll do it, ask them. Your provider can tell you more about what they’ll do and why. They can also reassure you if you’re worried or anxious.

When is palpation used?

Palpation is a standard part of many parts of modern medicine. Some examples of common times when healthcare providers use it include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• At child developmental milestone and wellness visits
• Digital rectal exams
• During first aid
• Neurological exams
• Pelvic exams
• Physical exams
• Prostate exams
• Sports physicals
• When drawing blood for blood tests