The outer ear is filled with nerves and is a highly sensitive part of your body. Those go directly to the brain, and so can reach any part of your body through the appropriate stimulus. Through thorough clinical studies, humanity has developed the means to utilize the ear as a way of treating the entire body. Auricular or ear acupuncture in Bellingham is oftentimes used as the mode of treatment for patients seeking treatment for digestive problems, insomnia, pain, weight loss, drug, smoking, and alcohol addiction and many more.
Ear acupuncture is also called auriculotherapy or auricular therapy and the Chinese have been practicing it for thousands of years. In the 1950’s, it was fine tuned as a very potent medical technique by Dr. Paul Nogier, a French neurologist. This therapy uses acupuncture needles smaller than the ones used in traditional acupuncture procedures to activate acupuncture points on the auricle or outer ear. The size of the needles causes less sensation which makes it a more agreeable option for a lot of people, (not that traditional acupuncture causes pain, anyway). Auricular acupuncture also gives your acupuncturist more freedom to use a number of acupoints on your ear, which usually is a bit difficult to maneuver around.
Treatment can also involve sticking small vaccaria plant seeds on the ear to eliminate stagnation and boost the flow of blood or it might use healing magnets to complement the auricular acupuncture therapy. According to TCM, the human ear is a miniature representation of the entire human body. Therefore, using the acupoints on your ear can virtually address any illness that could otherwise be treated with needling traditional acupuncture points in your body. The truth is looking at your ear you may be able to see how it can look like an inverted fetus with the hand and feet pointing to the top of the ear and the lobe as the head of the fetus. A lot of auricular acupoints uncannily conform to this general pattern. Shoulder acupoints, for example, are located on where the shoulder of the fetus would be.
The use of magnets and the sticking of seeds on your ear as an adjunct to auricular therapy are often used after the therapy for added stimulation while you’re waiting for your next treatment session. The seeds usually naturally fall of three or four days later. This makes your overall treatment a lot more effective.
Though it may be possible for anyone to locate the acupuncture points in the ear, doing auricular therapy on yourself or on others is not advisable. To prevent infection and injury, seek treatment from a certified and qualified acupuncturist, who has been trained in all manner of TCM techniques, and knows the best possible means of diagnosing you effectively and appropriately.