Acupuncture and acupressure

China
Acupuncture and acupressure are two of the most ancient methods of healing currently in use. The Nei Ching or Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine is the earliest known text on acupuncture. It is believed to have been written during the reign of Emperor Huang Ti between the years 2697 BC and 2596BC. In this book, 14 important channels within the human body were defined, 6 of which travel to or from the foot. All these channels link internal organs with sensitive points spreading over the skin. While this book mainly deals with acupuncture, there are also several paragraphs referring to massage. The ancients in China had in common with the ancient Arabs, Gypsies, Hindus and Europeans, the practice of needling a point on the lobule of the ear to treat eye troubles such as pinkeye, myopia and cataract.

In the latter cases, gold earrings were often prescribed and were deemed to provide a continuous stimulation of the visual centres in the brain. As a matter of fact, may modern European doctors still recommend gold or silver earrings to patients suffering from eye deficiencies. Gold is said to have a strengthening or tonifying effect (yang), while silver is said to have a sedating, or soothing effect (yin).

Hippocrates
Hippocrates a Greek physician of the 5th century BC, is referred to as the greatest physician in antiquity. Considered to be the father of modern medicine, his ability to make accurate clinical observations led him to the concept of preventative medicine.

We know that Hippocrates spent several years studying medicine in Egypt. Whether it is there that he learned of treating diseases by the ear, or whether it is an ancient Aryan heritage is a matter of speculation. However, four centuries before Christ, which may even be before the Nei Jing (Internal Classic of Chinese Medicine), mentioned above, Hippocrates speaks of a treatment to induce sterility in men by making a small incision behind the auricle. This intervention allowed a couple to have a normal sex life, but reduced the sperm content in the seminal fluid.

Europe
Moving to more recent times, for the past few centuries and even persisting to this time in France and Italy, Europeans have cauterized a point on the antihelix of the auricle to treat sciatica. The effectiveness of this cure when orthodox methods were not successful led various schools of medicine to look into the matter, resulting in a large number of related articles which have been published since the 17th century.

Modern Times
Modern Auricular Acupuncture or "auriculotherapy" is a very sophisticated scientific procedure, which owes much to the studies and research of Dr. Paul Nogier. In the late 1950s, Dr. Nogier, a French acupuncturist and neurosurgeon, was the first to explore the ear both scientifically and according to Chinese medical principles, and he has done much to revive this almost forgotten branch of Chinese medicine. He published his theories in 1972.

His discovery of the physiological links of the ear to the inverted foetus shape or human embryo sparked a wave of intensive research in China, leading to further developments in this fascinating field. To date the vast research undertaken in China has led to the discovery of approximately 200 points on the auricle itself, many of which differ from Dr. Nogier's locations.

The modern practitioner of "auriculotherapy" uses a combination of Dr. Nogier's theory and the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, which incorporates the use of meridians for the treatment and diagnoses. The popularity of this safe, simple method of treating the body is continuing to grow and become more precise and successful.

World Health Organization (WHO)
In 1982 the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to standardize the ear points. Together with the Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion Association, a number of standard points were formulated. These International Standard Auricular Points (ISAP) of which there are 90, are grouped into four types.

Group 1 - Sixty one Points Named after various anatomical parts of the body
Group 2 - Twenty Points Named in Accordance with Auricular Anatomy
Group 3 - Five Points Named in Accordance with Orthodox Medicine
Group 4 - Four Points Named according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).