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Auricular Acupuncture Is Fast Becoming A Mainstream Form Of Treatment For Sciatica

The ear has one of the most abundant reflex systems in the body. A reflex system is an area in the body where the entire body is depicted in a specific part of the body. Reflex systems are sometimes called “microsystems” and are two-way systems of communication of the body. They mirror the illness of a part of the body and can also treat it. The most well-known reflex systems are foot and hand reflexology. Auricular acupuncture is the appraisal and activation of the auricle or outer ear for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in other regions of the body.

Auricular acupuncture has been used by early Chinese physicians for thousands of years. These doctors exploited the auricle in diagnosis and treatment. Ancient documents reveal Hippocrates pierced points behind the ears to treat sciatic pain and impotence. Medical documents around the Middle Ages in Europe reveal ear treatment for sciatica. In the 1950’s, French neurologist Dr. Paul Nogier created a comprehensive map of the ear repressing it as a reflex system. He devised a model using an upside down fetus as the model image. His research has been confirmed by physicians throughout the globe. Around the 1970’s, Michael Smith a doctor from New York devised a protocol for substance abuse withdrawal by treating five points on the auricle. He established the NADA or the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association.

Auricular acupuncture is used by health care providers such as psychologists, massage therapists, chiropractors, physicians, and acupuncturists and is one of the extremely effective though lesser known alternative healing therapies. Acupuncture points on the ear are activated stimulated by ear acupuncture pellets, magnets, lasers, needles, and manual pressure. Without using needles, auricular acupuncture can be as potent as acupuncture. The World Health Organization Director in 1990 said, “Of all the microsystems of acupuncture, auricular therapy is perhaps the best documented, most scientifically developed, and the most widely used and most practical.”

Practically every condition can be treated by auricular acupuncture is one of the best aspects of this therapy. Treatment of conditions such as menopause, headaches, arthritis, anxiety, addictions, insomnia, stress, and pain can be augments with the inclusion of auricular acupuncture. This modality is designed to be a complements to other kinds of therapy. It has not been designed to be a substitute for other proper medical care.

Studies done in China have determined that Auricular Acupuncture can treat more than 200 disorders and diseases and works in 85 percent of cases. The Pain Management Center of UCLA In 1980 performed a double blind research to ascertain the scientific validity of external ear diagnosis. It discovered a 75 percent rate of accuracy rate in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain conditions via palpation and observation of the ear. Research conducted in South Australia at Adelaide University, examined auricular acupuncture for the treatment of obesity. It discovered that auricular acupuncture can restrain appetite. The amount of weight lost and the number of people who lost weight was meaningfully higher in the group treated with auricular acupuncture.

All these suggest to an astonishing wellness and health healing modality – auricular acupuncture!

Dr. Hailing Fu is a doctor or Oriental medicine and the founder of Ling’s Acupuncture, Inc., in Orlando, FL. She has also served as professor and clinic director at the Florida College of Integrative Medicine in Central Florida.