Auriculotherapy
Auriculotherapy refers to the stimulation of the auricle of the external ear for the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions in other parts of the body.
Ear acupuncture or auricular acupuncture is when the stimulation is achieved by the insertion of needles, whereas the term Auriculotherapy often refers to electrical stimulation of the surface of ear reflex points.
Specific points on the ear can also be stimulated by manual pressure, referred to as auricular acupressure or ear reflexology.
Acupuncture points on the ear can also be stimulated with lasers, magnets, and ear pellets.
Auriculotherapy is typically considered one form of acupuncture, but there are both differences and similarities between the two procedures.
Acupuncture is a form of medical treatment involving the stimulation of acupuncture points located on energy channels extending over the surface of the body, which are known as meridians.
From the philosophy of Taoism, there are six Yang meridians and six Yin meridians.
In classical acupuncture, it is the Yang meridians that directly connect to the external ear.
These energy lines of force are blocked or congested when there is some pathology in a specific area of the body.
Insertion of acupuncture needles into specific acupoints can relieve the symptoms and underlying pathology of a particular health problem. Some of the meridian energy lines of force connect to the external ear, thus creating the field of auricular acupuncture.
Different perspectives of Auriculotherapy focus not on the acupuncture meridians but on the use of the ear as a localized reflex system connected to the central nervous system.