One of the most sensitive nerve-filled parts of your body is your outer ear. These nerves are directly connected to your brain, and so when they’re properly stimulated, it can reach any part of your body through the. Mankind has developed, through diligent research, the techniques to utilize your ear as a means of healing your whole body. Ear acupuncture in Cleveland, also called auricular acupuncture, is often used on patients searching for a way to treat digestive conditions, insomnia, pain, to lose weight, and to quit smoking among many others.
Used in China for thousands of years, auricular acupuncture was further refined in the 1950’s by French neurologist Paul Nogier. This type of treatment requires the sticking of small acupuncture needles on specific acupoints of the auricle or outer to stimulate acupoints. In auricular acupuncture, the practitioner inserts a 0.18mm thick, 0.5-inch, needle on your ear rather than the standard 0.22mm thick 1-inch that’s used on your body. This reduces the sensation of needling on your ear, as well as gives your practitioner more ease in utilizing using different acupoints on your ear, which usually is small and difficult to manipulate.
The needles may also include or be replaced by using the small seeds of the vaccaria plant that can also help address stagnation and strengthen the blood. The practitioner may also use healing magnets to either complement the treatment or in lieu of the auricular acupuncture needles. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the ear is a miniature representation of the entire human body. This means that stimulating certain acupoints on your ear can help treat any disorder that otherwise could be resolved with the acupoints located on your body. In truth, the shape of the ear looks like an inverted fetus with its feet and hands directed towards the top of your ear and with its head located on your lobe. Intriguingly, a lot of auricular acupoints match with this general pattern. Shoulder acupoints, for example, are located where the shoulder of the fetus would be.
Oftentimes, auricular acupuncture is administered along with acupoints on specific parts of your body. A practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) usually utilizes acupoints on the body as well as acupoints on the ear, and then after treatment, tapes ear seeds on similar or the same acupoints of your ear. The magnets or seeds are taped with a bandage-like adhesive material. The matching acupoints can then be stimulated a few times a day by the patient, until they fall off by themselves naturally, which is usually about three or four days later. Over the next few days, this extra stimulation boosts the effectiveness of your acupuncture treatment.
While mapping the acupoints on your ear is easy, we do not recommend using them to treat another person or yourself. It is important that you receive auricular acupuncture only from a licensed qualified TCM Practitioner, who has been trained in all forms of Chinese medicine modalities, and knows the best way of diagnosing you effectively and correctly.
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