Ear acupuncture
Ear Acupuncture is a wonderfully flexible therapy, that combines
well with other treatments, and in which practitioners can be trained to a variety
of different levels. Some colleges train their students in Ear Acupuncture alone,
or in conjunction with Naturopathic or Chinese Medicine studies. However, practitioners
can also be trained to administer the 5-needle drug detoxification protocol only
(and this has been very effective for the training of staff that work in drug
treatment centres).
Treatment is normally given with the patient sitting; hence
the therapy lends itself equally well to treatment on a one to one basis; or to
drop in clinics where patients may be treated as a group. This enables the therapy
to be offered both privately or in charitably run clinics allowing it to be made
available to the less well off.
Although Acupuncture has been around for as much as 5,000 years,
Ear Acupuncture did not really take off until the 1950's when a French Physician
Dr Paul Nogier noticed that some of his patients had healed scars from cauterisation
for Sciatica. Some historians have suggested that the cauterisation technique
was brought back from China by 16th century missionaries, but anyway
he investigated further and his researches led him to develop a complete map of
the ear. A report on his research was published in a European Acupuncture Journal
in 1956, and came to the attention of Chinese researchers, who enthusiastically
pursued this new speciality. Nogier's work was pioneering and his reflex maps
are still in use today. He passed away in 1990, but is recognised as the 'Father'
of modern ear Acupuncture.
At the time The Yellow Emperor's Classic was written in 500
BC only 6 ear points were known, those that connected the 6 Yang meridians to
the auricle. Since then due to Nogier's pioneering work and continued research
in China, Europe and the USA more than 200 usable points have been mapped and
treatment protocols have been developed for a wide range of conditions. In addition
to needling, treatment methods have been developed using ear seeds, magnets, electro
stimulation and laser therapy.
The range of conditions for which treatment protocols have
been developed includes: addictive behaviours including smoking, acute and chronic
pain, some neurological conditions (including post Polio syndrome), stress related
and psychological disorders, skin circulatory respiratory and digestive disorders.
Written by John B Fontana Dip Hyp, Dip TPT, GHR Registered,
EAR Registered
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