Body of Research

The American Veterans Health Administration (VHA) launched a national initiative to train providers in Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) treatment as a non-pharmacological approach to pain management, and performed a research project over a 2 year period (2016-2018) to evaluate its effectiveness on immediate pain relief. This project took place at 57 VHA medical centers in the United States. A total of 11,406 veterans were treated with BFA at least once, in some cases 3 times.  More than 75% expe...

Several studies investigating the use of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) for disorders tinnitus, migraine and pain show therapeutic effects similar to those produced by the more invasive direct vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Although VNS is an FDA-approved therapy for the treatment of both depression and epilepsy, it is limited to being a second or third-line treatment option for severe, intervention-resistant cases, due to risks involved with device implantation. In contrast, t...

Chronic inflammatory diseases have been recognized as the most significant cause of death in the world today, with more than 50% of all deaths being attributable to inflammation-related diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions[2]. Evidence is emerging that the risk of developing chronic inflammation can be traced back to early development, and i...

The only place on the body where the vagus nerve (VN) sends its only peripheral branch is on the outer ear. The auricle is where this VN branch surfaces to form a cutaneous receptive field in the pinna of the ear — an area responsive to peripheral nerve stimulation. Thus, the auricle allows for easy access for auricular (and transcutaneous auricular) vagus nerve stimulation (aVNS/taVNS), that relays the stimuli to the brainstem and higher brain regions via extensive projections to second and...

The use of auricular methods for application in the field of psychology is supported by research such as the positive treatment results from auricular chromotherapy presented by Alexandre Massao Yoshizumi, MS, Daniel Guillermo Asis, MD, and Fabiola Andrade Luz, PhD. The auricular chromotherapy protocol, a technique developed by Dr. Asis and Dr. Federico Zarragoicoechea (with contributions from Jorge Boucinhas and Rafäel Nogier, MD), shows that simple auricular methods — methods that require l...

The human ear (the auricle) offers access for neuromodulation in support of a broad range of therapeutic approaches. Auricular methods work well under both biomedical and biopsychosocial models (for pain and other conditions). From Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation,[1] to acupuncture,[3][6] to psychological frameworks such as Polyvagal Theory, Trauma-Informed Care, and Somatic Psychology,[2-3] auricular methods provide an integrative pathway to healing that is grounded in a holistic...

Headache remains a frequent complaint for children presenting to a pediatric emergency departments and typical treatments such as oral or intravenous medications do not always relieve the pain. An alternative intervention shown to be effective is auricular acupuncture. This pilot study presents a cohort study of patients 8 to 18 years of age treated by ear acupuncture, with all showing improvement or resolution of their migraine headache, Read the entire pilot study (external link) Reference...

Often, study results of acupuncture for relief of postoperative pain do not offer compelling results owing to high risk of bias associated with improper randomization, inadequate control, and lack of blinding and allocation concealment. Systematic reviews do conclude that the evidence for Auricular Acupuncture on reducing postoperative pain is promising [18]. Study protocols such as this, provide an example for integrative medicine practice in a hospital setting for the management of postoper...

In a randomized clinical trial with an initial sample of 180 professionals, Kurebayashi and her colleagues studied the effectiveness of auricular methods (e.g. an auricular protocol for pain & anxiety) as a efficient, drug-free approach for improving the quality of life of the nursing staff of a hospital.  Results showed a 17% reduction in anxiety, a 36% reduction in pain, and a 13% increase in the mental aspect of quality of life. Details on descriptive statistics, analysis of variance...

In a case of thoracic trauma (rib fractures with pneumothorax and pulmonary contusions) with severe chest pain leading to ineffective ventilation and oxygenation, doctors in emergency department applied auricular acupuncture to ameliorate pain and hopefully improve his functional ability to cough and breathe deeply. The patients pain scores diminished considerably within minutes. Ventilation and oxygenation indices improved to safe limits. Read the full case report (external link) Reference...

Battlefield acupuncture, a form of auricular protocols based in auriculotherapy and auricular medicine, is an ear acupuncture procedure used in a number of medical facilities throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) for treatment with positive impact in polytrauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury as well as pain management. The DoD seeks nonpharmacologic/opioid pain management across the continuum of care, and this paper presents interest for, and progress related to,...

Romoli and his colleagues completed a study to identify the specific auricular zones related to lumbar hernia in patients treated using a series of epidural infiltrations with corticosteroids. A significant association was found for some auricular areas, along the series of epidural infiltrations, with a progressive reduction in the number of tender and low electrical resistance points together with a decrease of pain and hand-foot distance. It was concluded that auricular zones found with au...