Auriculothérapie

The auriculothérapie , or auricular acupuncture , is a practice of not-conventional Médecine wanting to be diagnostic and therapeutic development in the Années 1950, by Dr. Paul Nogier, General doctor Lyons. It rests on the idea, which there would exist a correspondence between the outer ear and the various bodies of the body (based on the similarity of form between the house of the ear and a foeus the upside down). It would be then possible to look after these various bodies by pricking the house of the ear using sterile needles. This assumption, very discussed by modern medicine, yet today could not dismount its ideal model or its effectiveness.

History

Auricular acupuncture was, in China, very little developed. Until in the Years 1960, Chinese acupuncture used the points of the ear only in the event of diseases of the eyes, the throat and diseases accompanied by fever.

It is with work of Doctor Paul Nogier (1908-1996), and in particular following a conference with the German doctor Gerhard Bachmann in 1956, that the first writings in Chinese language on the auricolothérapie are born. Paul Nogier stated to it that the majority of the body zones had on the ear a precise correspondence and that their puncture using a short needle of 1 millimetre thickness caused “a sharp pain at the same time as a Sédation or a cure of the disease of the corresponding body”.

Since, the Acupuncture of the ear progressed to China and several national plans are there under development. In parallel, Paul Nogier and his pupils, in several countries, developed his starting idea. In 1990, a report/ratio with the the World Health Organization (O.M.S.) recommends a terminology to standardize later research.

Experimental bases

The assumptions of this method concern the neuroanatomical Somatotopie which would make it possible to build representations cutaneous topics of the various bodies of the body on the house of the ear, coarsely reconstituting the image of a Fœtus reversed (head in the zone of the lobule, rachis and members on the branches of the Anthélix and the gutter of the hélix, internal organs in the conch). According to Nogier, the attack of a body would be translated on the ear, by the appearance of painful zones to the pressure according to this Métamérisation and of disturbances of the detectable electrical resistance of surface using specific apparatuses. And according to Doctor Bourdiol, there would exist in a quasi constant way an action on the body in the event of puncture or stimulation of the corresponding auricular zone in the man and the animal.

The mechanisms of this action would be underlain by a neuronal convergence, joining together, on the one hand, the impulses coming from the sick body, and, on the other hand, those which come from the auricular cutaneous zones.

Certain assumptions are interested in the appearance of thermal disturbances localized and specific to the auricular house in answer to peripheral cutaneous stimulations. It is considered a thermoregulator role of these auricular zones on the major thermogenesis of the bodies.

Other assumptions study the unconscious modifications reflexes of the beat of the arterial pulsation via stimulation of the auricular points. Paul Nogier discovered this signal but it is Professor Pierre Magnin who batipsé it V.A.S. ( Vascular Autonomic Signal ). This signal would open a diagnostic dimension by its observation.

Controversies

On the theoretical bases

To date, the ideal model of the auriculothérapie, scientifically validated forever. Moreover, current medical knowledge does not support its assumptions.

On the effectiveness

Only two validated scientific studies were published to date:

According to Alimi and coll, in the Newspaper off Clinical Oncology , the effectiveness of the auriculothérapie would be higher than that of the pacebo in the cancerous pains. But the methodology of this study was criticized.
According to another study, published in the Newspaper off American Medical Association , the auriculothérapie does not relieve the chronic pain more the placebo.
Lastly, méta-analyzes Cochrane shows that the auriculothérapie to date escapes to be the proof of its effectiveness in the treatment from the dependence to cocaine.

Other publications relate to the auriculothéraie while being favorable to him:

According to the thesis of sciences of Professor Pierre Rabischong (pulpit of anatomy) and of Dr. Claudie Terral (Unit INSERM 103) in 1972, bearing on the histology of the points of auriculothérapie -, it would have significant effects.,
just as show it recent work carried out in the USA , published American reviews, such as those of ICMART (the USA); or those of the American association of electrotherapy.

On the commercial use

Its practice is disputed in France by a stop of the Official journal: a team of commercial not-doctors saw itself deprived of any publicity insofar as for this technique no scientific proof were brought .

References

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