New Year often sees us weighed down with the consequences of our festive season indulgences. Bloating, sluggishness, fatigue, and the start of a new year causes us to look at detoxification and stress management. Many products and therapies are on the market but few know that Auriculotherapy can offer a quick, painless, easy alternative to combating stress.

Auriculotherapy, or ear acupuncture is an alternative medicine which utilises points on the ear to stimulate and correct imbalances occurring in the body. The ear is a microsystem and Chinese medicine theory understands that the entire body is mapped on it. Auriculotherapy has a recorded history in many areas of the world both East and West from 1500BC and was systematised by a French doctor, Paul Nogier, in the 1950s. Since then, it has undergone extensive research and is a valued healing technique used on its own or in conjunction with other therapies. [1]

Points on the ear don’t have to be stimulated with needles either to be effective! Stimulation can be done using acupressure, laser, microneedles, magnets or the increasingly popular option – ear seeds. An ear seed is a little bead on a self-adhesive strip which is placed onto the ear to stimulate an acupuncture point. Ear seeds can stay on the ear for up to 4 days, meaning that you can continue to see see results for days! Want a more glamorous look? A major supplier of ear seeds has recently partnered with Swarovski to create Swarovski Crystal Ear Pellets.

So how does it work and what points will you stimulate? Auriculotherapy can be used for effective detoxification and stress management.

There are five main points, as outlined in the NADA Protocol, which have been found to be powerful detoxification points. Based on Chinese methodology, these points will balance the body and emotions, as well as enhance detoxification of the liver, kidney and lungs. Clients who use ear seeds report feeling revitalised, more calm and more focused.

Apart from detoxification, Auriculotherapy is useful as a non-invasive treatment for insomnia, cessation of smoking, depression, anxiety, back, neck or shoulder pain, headaches, menopause and weight loss.

Painless and non-invasive, acupuncture never looked so good! Plus, stay tuned for our Diamond Ear Acupuncture Seeds coming soon to Endeavour Wellness Clinics.

Want to detox and de-stress naturally? Book an Acupuncture treatment with us to experience the results. View appointment times and book online.

References

F. F. Luigi Gori, “Ear Acupuncture in European Traditional Medicine,” Evidence Based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, pp. 13-16, 2007.T. Oelson, Auriculotherapy Manual: Chinese and Western systems of Ear Acupuncture, London: Churchill Livingstone- Elsevier, 1996.Z. A. G. H. I Szechenyi, “Cochrane Library,” 2015. [Online]. Available: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clcentral/articles/327/CN-01052327/frame.html. [Accessed 31 10 2015].

This article provides general information and is not intended to constitute advice. All care is taken to ensure information is accurate and relevant. Please see your Practitioner for health treatments and advice.