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Tag: Auricular Acupuncture

Auricular Acupuncture For Issues Ranging From Nausea, High Blood Pressure To Drug Addiction

As far back as 4000 years ago, Traditional Chinese Medicine was already used as a system of healing by ancient Chinese medicine practitioners. Around 500 B.C., auricular acupuncture was first cited in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, which is one of the oldest medical documents in the world. However, the techniques by which auricular acupuncture is administered today is in fact based on findings that transpired in the 1950s in France. The mode of auricular acupuncture currently used is based on research done by French doctor Paul Nogier.

Auricular acupuncture in Winter Park involves the stimulation of the auricle or outer ear for the identification and treatment of illnesses and diseases. Health conditions may be taking place anywhere throughout the body. These acupuncture points can be manually stimulated, or stimulated with ear seeds, magnets, laser or acupuncture needles. Irrespective of the stimulation method chosen, auricular acupuncture can be a very potent addition to typical acupuncture therapies.

When Dr. Nogier observed that some of his patients had a scar on their upper ear, the present type of auricular acupuncture therapy came about. He found out that a local practitioner had been treating his patients for sciatic pain after setting about inquiring about the scar. The practitioner was searing that particular area on their outer ear to alleviate their low back pain. Similar tests were conducted by Dr. Nogier on his own patients and he saw that their low back pain was also healed. He attempted to use acupuncture needles and other modes of stimulation and discovered it was just as effective as searing that area. Dr. Nogier then speculated that if a region of the upper auricle can help treat low back pain, then maybe the other parts of the auricle can also heal the other areas of the body. This led to the current technique now used in auricular acupuncture therapy. The outer ear is somewhat shaped like a miniature fetus in an upside down position with the feet represented by the top of the ear, the head, the lower ear lobe, and in between, the rest of the body. In 1958, this upside down fetus model was adopted by the Chinese in their practice of auricular acupuncture.

Traditional Chinese medicine sees auricular acupuncture as a type of microsystem, in which the ear is a micro-representation of the entire human body. The ear is a small anatomical part of the body but in auricular acupuncture, it represents the entire body. Microsystems can also be identified in scalp acupuncture, facial acupuncture, and hand and foot reflexology.

Auricular acupuncture is widely practiced in Asia for more than two millennia, although in different forms. For the past 40 – 50 years, it has been practiced in Europe. In The US, it has been practiced for the last three decades or so. For the past five to ten years, the U.S. military has begun using this technique for its battlefield soldiers. Battlefield acupuncture is a form of acupuncture therapy that’s designed to help soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by actual combat.

While auricular acupuncture enables any area of the outer ear to link through the microsystem to every area of the body, different illnesses can be resolved simply through the insertion of a few filiform needles. Aside from having the ability to treat PTSD, auricular acupuncture can also treat issues like drug addiction, chronic pain, nausea and high blood pressure. And if you have an aversion to needles, you can find auricular acupuncture as a very convenient form of treatment since you will never see the needles and you can still get the help you need to treat your conditions in order to achieve wellness and health.

Clinical Trials Prove Auricular Acupuncture Can Help People Lose Weight

What if you could melt away the pounds, burn fat, and lessen your BMI or body mass index by merely activating a few acupuncture points on your ear? According to a published study in the British Medical Journal, that process of losing weight is possible and that simple.

While people have been performing auricular acupuncture for thousands of years, this research is of certain interest due to the fact that scientists may have pinpointed the exact mechanisms for weight loss.

Healing with Auricular Acupuncture

Ear acupuncture or auricular acupuncture works by stimulating some of the pressure points on the auricle to treat certain mental and physical maladies. Being an alternative form of treatment, auricular acupuncture is frequently utilized to address more than a hundred fifty conditions including the problems of obesity, mood disorders, and pain. In resolving nicotine and smoking addictions, its rate of success is about 75 to 80 percent. It has a similar high chance of success when it comes to weight loss.

Sixty years ago, after discovering that the back pain of a patient got cured when his ear got burned accidentally, French doctor and acupuncturist Paul Nogier published a chart of auricular acupuncture points he named Nogier’s map. He also published an ear map of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is still used today by modern acupressure practitioners and acupuncturists to activate pressure points in the outer ear. These healers use ear magnets, pellets, lasers, and manual stimulation to stimulate acupoints.

Your Auricle: A Great Way to Lose Weight

When it comes to losing weight, auricular acupuncture in Overland Park is clearly the way to go as gleaned by Korean researchers who proved whether constant stimulation of five acupoints was much better than constant stimulation of just one acupoint. They classified 90 obese individuals, who had a BMI of 24 and above into three groups:

Thirty of those individuals were given the Five-point treatment – This involved sticking acupuncture needles 2 mm deep into five points: the endocrine, hunger, stomach, spleen and shenmen points. For a week, the needles remained in the points using a surgical tape. A week after the same treatment was administered this time on the other ear which was continued alternately on each ear for eight weeks.

Thirty people were treated with the one-point therapy: one acupuncture needle was inserted in the hunger acupoint. The needle remained in place for a week and then relocated to the other ear a week after. Two weeks after treatment shifted to the other ear and so on and so forth for eight weeks.

Thirty people were treated with fake acupuncture: Upon insertion researchers removed immediately the needles while telling the subjects that the needles remained stuck in their ears with a surgical tape.

The subjects from each group followed a therapeutic diet and not a weight loss diet. During the eight weeks they were in treatment, they were advised to not do any exercise than normal.

At the onset, middle, and end phase of the trial, the subjects’ blood pressure, body fat, waist circumference, weight, and BMI were measured. Four weeks after, the outcomes were compelling and clear in favor of auricular acupuncture:

1. A 6.1 percent decrease in BMI for subjects given the Five -point treatment.

2. Subjects who were treated with the one-point therapy experienced a 5.7 percent decrease.

3. The group treated with sham acupuncture did not show a decrease in their weight, body fat, or BMI.

4. There was a decrease in body fat and waist circumference in the group given the Five-point treatment.

Regardless of type of treatment, the blood pressure of all the subjects remained the same.

At the end of the trial, the researchers stated: “In the short term, one-needle treatment at the hunger point and the five-needle acupuncture therapy widely used in clinics in Korea seemed to work well in lowering body weight.”

People can use auricular acupuncture without the need for needles. They can also heal themselves using just a gentle touch of their fingertips.

Auricular Acupuncture Helps Curb Your Appetite Allowing You To Lose Weight

Weight loss treatment via auricular acupuncture has been practiced for centuries despite the fact that it involves the rather invasive approach of inserting needles into various parts of your auricle or outer ear.

In TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine in Boca Raton, the ear is a micro-system that has pressure points that correspond to some of the major organs of your body. Once the needles are inserted into these points, a person’s appetite can be restrained and his tendency to overeat or binge can be prevented whilst his metabolism is speeded up.

One of the effects of auricular acupuncture is it helps trigger the release of endorphins in the bloodstream. This helps the person calm down and relieves any frustration, anxiety, and stress in his mind and body that may cause him to overeat in order to compensate for those negative feelings. What actually leads to a desire to eat unhealthy fattening foods and to overeat are usually ascribed to these feelings.

Modern auricular acupuncture is a newer version of body acupuncture. Nowadays, instead of needles some practitioners stimulate the same points using laser, sound, or electricity. Your hormonal and digestive systems can also be affected by the endorphins which are released during a round of auricular acupuncture treatment to lose weight by rebalancing them.

The treatment makes your metabolism more efficient enabling you to burn calories faster while it fortifies your determination to avoid eating unhealthy foods and to not overeat.

Promoting the Efficacy of Auricular Acupuncture to Lose Fat

In auricular acupuncture, the points on the auricle are stimulated with a tack preceding the piercing of a needle. A magnet, seed, or bead is taped to an acupuncture point to also extend and boost the potency of the treatment long after the session has ended. If the patient starts to feel hungry during the treatment process, he needs to apply mild pressure to the magnet, seed, or bead. This helps release the endorphins that will help curb the appetite of the patient.

The timetable for the treatment usually lasts for eight to twelve weeks with sessions done one to two times a week; it may therefore take a while for the patient to achieve his required weight. Auricular acupuncture’s effectiveness in helping one lose weight does not mean it can be the sole treatment for weight gain or obesity. You also need to exercise and eat a healthy diet in order to lose weight.

Auricular acupuncture can help you attain your weight loss goals quickly by helping control your food cravings. Specific acupoints on the ear that correspond to the mouth for sugar addicts, impulsive eaters, the lungs, and the endocrine system for water retention are often chosen in the treatment to lose weight.

For optimal results, breathing techniques and Chinese herbal formulas are also used in combination with auricular acupuncture.

This type of acupuncture really works and can be the long sought answer to your weight problem. It can help you attain your weight loss goals quickly and easily more than you expect especially if you include exercise, breathing techniques, Chinese herbs, and a healthy diet in your treatment strategy.

Auricular Acupuncture One Of The Safest Most Effective Ways To Quit Smoking

For more than a few decades now, ear acupuncture or auricular acupuncture has been offered to people trying to quit smoking. While it may not be a delightful idea of having tiny needles stuck in your ear, the end result is usually a lot greater than the means to bring it about. We will discuss why people decide to try auricular acupuncture to quit smoking and how this therapy is usually administered. Our aim is to give a clear explanation as to the reason people decide to try to help themselves overcome this potentially life threatening habit

How Auricular Acupuncture Became an Option for People Who Want to Quit Smoking

Without a gracious nod to its origins in the field of work with alcohol and strong street drugs, the role of auricular acupuncture to quit smoking cannot be properly discussed. Promising outcomes working with serious and difficult drug addictions resulted in the conclusion that effects were observed regardless of the drug a person is addicted to (whether it is cocaine, heroin, alcohol, or other drugs). Auricular acupuncture therapists tried it successfully with tobacco and the practice has thrived since then. Its various applications have definitely put the therapy on the map and its popularity may also be due to the mode of delivery.

Typical Auricular Acupuncture Practice

While ‘whole body’ acupuncture involves the removal of some of your clothing, auricular acupuncture can be administered while sitting on a chair and with all your clothes on. For women who cover the hair for religious reasons, their customs can be accommodated either by holding an all-woman group session or by having a private session with a female practitioner. Auricular acupuncture may be simultaneously performed on several clients in the same room, making the treatment very inexpensive. With clients sitting in a chair, fully clothed, and in a supportive social environment, the therapy aims to help people deal with cravings better and to also help them relax.

Feeling Calmer

Pipe, rolling tobacco, and cigarette smokers all have one thing in common when they quit – they often have a very strong urge to smoke tobacco, despite their logical mind telling them not to. One of the reasons acupuncture work is that it helps release endorphins. These are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals that help a person stay calm and relaxed. This is wonderful news for individuals who are trying to cope with smoking urges especially if they are under severe tension and anxiety. Auricular acupuncturists usually offer relief from these urges in-between sessions by using magnets or ear seeds taped to the lobe of the ear. They stimulate the acupuncture points on the outer ear, without the need to puncture the skin. Being a treatment that may help stop cravings, it is obviously of great benefit for smokers who are desperately trying to kick the habit.

Auricular acupuncture practitioners in Bellmore advise their clients to use the treatment as part of a larger smoking plan of treatment. The modern way of administering this type of acupuncture is an emerging field with some schools providing expert training in methods not taught elsewhere. Understanding how the treatment can be part of a shared, fully clothed form of intervention to help those who want to quit become less vulnerable and to stay calm through any cravings can help explain why it is often included in treatment strategies to quit smoking.

Important Note: This article merely gives an overall introduction to the topic and is not a form of medical advice; for any health concerns, you need to consult with your primary health care provider or doctor.