Ear acupuncture, also known as auricular therapy, is based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Auricular therapy is widely used for many conditions, including addiction treatment, mood disorders, obesity, pain, and other conditions. This medical system emphasizes a holistic approach to medicine, an approach that treats the whole person. The acupuncture points found on the ear help to regulate the body's internal organs, structures, and functions.
Auricular therapy has a long history of use in China. It was mentioned in the most famous of ancient Chinese medical textbooks, “The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine.” In modern times, auricular therapy has been shown to stimulate the release of endorphins, the body's own feel-good chemicals.
(Acupuncture.com, By Heather Schiffke)
Ear
cauteries have been found in the pyramids; these were used for burning or
scarring specific ear points for conditions like sciatica. In 1637 a Portuguese
doctor, Zactus Lusitanus, described the use of auricular cautery for sciatica,
and in 1717 Valsalva demonstrated the use of ear acupuncture for toothache. It
was this crude form of acupuncture that interested Dr. Nogier in the early
1950's. Some of his patients had received ear cautery and obtained relief from
pain, and therefore Dr. Nogier began to develop and investigate this form of
treatment. One of his earliest findings was that if there was pain in the body
then the equivalent part of the ear also became painful. For instance, if the
hand is painful then the part of the ear representing the hand also becomes
painful when slight pressure is applied to the relevant part of the ear.
Furthermore, if the painful ear point is punctured with a needle then the hand
pain will be relieved. Through trial and error, Dr. Nogier developed a theory
that the shape of the ear was likened to that of an inverted fetus. The head of
the fetus is located at the lobe of the ear, the body curls around the inside
of the ear with the feet at the apex, with all of the fine details of every
part of the emotional and physical body represented.
Ye (Xiaolin.
New discovery of acupuncture abroad: an introduction to ear acupuncture.
Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1958;(12)
Each acupuncture point on the outer ear
relates to a strategic point in the body. When a point is stimulated
with a needle, it sends a kind of electrical signal to the brain which
then correspondingly stimulates the part of the body the point is
related to. As such stimulating the points can be helpful in relieving
joint and muscle aches, and energizing the necessary organs through
stimulating the brain.
Auricular acupuncture for addictions is a useful tool in relieving the
symptoms of withdrawal, including decreasing the severity of cravings,
body aches, headaches, nausea, sweating and muscle cramping. People
also report that they sleep better, feel less depressed and more
relaxed. Based on 3000 years of Chinese medicine, auricular acupuncture
is being used in over 1000 addiction treatment centres in North America.