Auriculotherapy
What is Auriculotherapy Treatment?
You have heard of traditional, whole-body acupuncture, so what is auriculotherapy?
Auriculotherapy, also known as auricular acupuncture or ear acupuncture, is a technique of using points on the skin of the external ear (auricle) to diagnose and treat different medical conditions of the body. The pattern of acupoints on your ear is much like a map of your body, so auriculotherapy can be an important part of your Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment plan for pain, addictions and internal disorders, with excellent results.
As a minimally-invasive, safe, and effective therapy, many patients now seek auriculotherapy in Glenview, IL.
What Can Ear Acupuncture Do for Me?
Ear acupuncture can regulate the function of your organs and tissues; relieve pain and inflammation; and assist in maintaining a healthy chemical balance in your brain. Depending on the points chosen from the auriculotherapy chart, different organs and tissues can benefit.
Research published in 2018 described significant benefits of auricular acupuncture in treating migraine, pinched nerves (radiculopathy) and peripheral nerve dysfunction (polyneuropathy, a painful, disabling condition).
Chronic pain, including lower back pain; migraine; allergies; depression; anxiety, insomnia; addiction; trouble losing weight; digestive issues and many more conditions can benefit from ear acupuncture treatment.
How is Auriculotherapy Done?
Auricular acupuncture can be performed with the tiny needles used in regular acupuncture, or ear seeds which are taped onto the necessary acupuncture points. These provide stimulation without penetration.
How does auriculotherapy work? The pattern of acupuncture points on your ears are much like a mirror of your body. Auriculotherapy treatment allows for similar positive effects on the target area as whole-body acupuncture, with points all conveniently located on your ears. Treating these points can calm the mind, boost immunity, reduce pain, and more.
Just like whole-body acupuncture, ear acupuncture therapy aims to restore the flow of qi (vital energy) by releasing blockages or other disruption.
What Conditions Can Be Treated?
Ear acupuncture can help to treat many conditions, with the most popular requests being weight loss and smoking assistance.
Auriculotherapy for weight loss, alongside a healthy diet, may be more effective than diet alone. Studies show that it is both safe and increases the benefits you can expect from diet and exercise, but only works as a combination treatment. Acupuncture works by regulating hormones related to appetite, blood sugar control, and metabolism.
Ear acupuncture may also help you stay away from smoking after you decide to quit. While just under one-third of volunteers in one study avoided a relapse with conventional nicotine patches alone, almost half of people who added in ear acupuncture continued to avoid smoking.
What Are the Side Effects of Auricular Acupuncture?
Auricular acupuncture is very safe. However, you may experience some pain and discomfort where the needles are placed.
How Long Do the Benefits of Auriculotherapy Last?
The duration of ear acupuncture’s effects depends on the type of condition treated, and the quality and length of the treatment period. You may find that relief first lasts a few days, and then this turns into weeks or months over time.
You can enjoy very persistent benefits. For example, the above study on auricular acupuncture for smoking found that the vast majority of people who counted as successes at the end of treatment did not relapse within six months. One-third of people who only took nicotine replacement relapsed, compared to one in eight of the treated group.
Certified Auriculotherapy at Life Balance Clinic
If you’ve been searching “auriculotherapy treatment near me,” you’ve come to the right place. At Life Balance Clinic, Dr. Dekhtyar, DACM has years of experience in treating both acute and chronic health issues.
For the most immediate pain relief, Life Balance Clinic offers Battlefield Acupuncture. This is a type of auricular acupuncture invented by the military doctor, Richard Niemtzow, to provide rapid pain relief for injuries. In our clinic, we use this form of ear acupuncture for acute back pain, headaches, and joint injuries.
To find out more about auriculotherapy treatment, call us today at 847-724-1777.