Auriculotherapy is a concept that includes diagnostic and treatment techniques using properties of the human ear to interact with the homeostasis of the body. This action is applied to the ear through cutaneous stimulation and induces specific responses. Depending on the mechanisms of stimulus, the bodily response will manifest as neurologic, hormonal, or immune changes. Researchers agree that these responses are likely to be facilitated by the neuronal plasticity of the central nervous system.
The most common lower back pain manifests as pain without an anatomical lesion. The pain is a symptom of an underlying problem. Lower back pain with pain only as a symptom is statistically the most frequent clinical type of spine pain. This common lower back pain is a result of abnormal mechanical stresses affecting different anatomical structures of the spine.
The effect of treatment is immediately visible on muscle-tone asymmetry when the body is upright; the amount of the lumbar-spine flexion increases and lumbar-pain decreases.
Selection of patients: Twelve male patients with lower back pain for more than two years were selected at random and were randomly separated into two groups of six patients each.
Treatment protocol: After evaluation, they were examined further and marked on the ears with the corresponding points that had been detected following the treatment protocol.Auriculotherapy protocol:
Following evaluation of each patient’s level of pain and spine flexibility, the therapy involved a three-step treatment approach for each patient:
Step 1: Known as postural syndrome determination, it was determined if the patient had a postural syndrome by observing whether the shoulders tilted when the patient stood upright. This tilt corresponds to an asymmetry of muscle tone between right and left sides of the body and can cause mechanical stress of the spine.
Step 2: Treatment of ear points was done—five points on each ear were treated if discomfort was present at the point. These points can be found by electronic point detector. Once these five points
are found, an aiguilles semi permanentes needle can be inserted in each point that lasts up to
five days before they are pushed out to the surface of the skin.
Step 3: The result was controlled by observing the patient’s shoulder tilts to determine if the tilts had disappeared. If the tilt remained, another point had to be found and treated.
Results: A comparison between the two groups showed a significant difference after placebo or verum auriculotherapy was administered.
Conclusion: The effect on pain and lumbar flexibility appeared to be significant and therefore, this protocol can be considered as a more thorough treatment for healthcare of lower back pain.
The author is Head of the Department of Acupuncture, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.
This treatment is now being made available in India