Wow.
The results are in from the auriculotherapy survey, and I’m stunned.
We received 546 survey responses. That’s far more than I expected, but the results themselves are even more stunning…
—Warning— Stastics follow. If you don’t want to read the statistics, feel free to scroll down to the summary.
First, more than 30% of respondents use auriculotherapy on less than 1 patient out of every 10 they see. More than half of respondents use it on less than 25% of their patients. Interestingly, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are even more significant results: 25% of all respondents use auriculotherapy on virtually every patient (90% of patients or more).
This means that by far, the bulk of practitioners are on one end of the spectrum or the other. Either they know how to use it and they use it a lot, or for one reason or another, they have a reason not to use it much at all.
Frankly, I was not surprised to find that this held true with our middle two questions. When asked why a practitioner did not use auriculotherapy more, the reasons were plentiful. Big scores went to “It’s hard to know which points to use” and “I don’t see many conditions that can be treated with auriculotherapy.”
Very few respondents said they “don’t know how”, that “it doesn’t work”, or that “their patients don’t like it.” 35% of all respondents (that’s nearly 200 practitioners) typed a response in the “other” category. My favorite response here was “The books I have on auriculotherapy show the point(s) in different places even far away from one presentation to another, which makes me unsure where the point really is.”
When asked what conditions are most often treated, there was not a single standout answer. Every condition that was listed received significant votes, and there was not a single condition that was picked as the most common one for auriculotherapy treatment. 90% of respondents use auriculotherapy for at least one condition, and auriculotherapy is effective for just about every condition you encounter.
Learning just how much it’s used (more than 90% of practitioners use it), and how effective it is for all kinds of conditions (every condition was frequently selected as treatable with auriculotherapy), I was really surprised to see the results from the last question of the survey. When it comes to practice income from auriculotherapy treatments, almost 70% of practitioners respond that they receive 10% or less of their total practice income from auriculotherapy. Interestingly, there were a relatively high number of practitioners who responded that 90% or more of their practice income comes from auriculotherapy treatments.
Summary:
It’s abundantly clear to me now that practitioners who have figured out auriculotherapy use it a lot, they use it for EVERY condition and virtually every patient they see, and it really boosts their bottom line as it accounts for a very significant increase in income. In fact, some practitioners don’t use any treatment other than auriculotherapy, and they generate 100% of their practice income from it.
Now what I want to know is… What is the secret? What’s the difference between the majority of practitioners who have excuses not to use it, and those who do use it with great results and are richly rewarded for it?
As always, I appreciate your comments below.
Eu gostaria de fazer cursos vossos e adquirir vossos produtos e informações em portugues ou español.
obrigado
i used auricular acupuncture almost always especially for calming patient- unless they are uncomfortaable withthe idea of it.
The main reason why Auriculotherapy-medicine in not comonly more accepted or used is the lack of neuro-physiological background/research in this field.
sincererly
Adriaens F.A. PT, MT, AccT
The most important part of this therapy is to accurately locate the most reactive point and not the formula type treatment. So a very good point detecter is needed which also cost effective ,fast and sleek with wide range of sensitivity so that we can detect the points accurately. Now we have some like the joto point detecter. This is not very dependable. We do get results but still we feel that a much better instrument is needed. Can you make it?
I recommend you check out the Stimplus Pro point locator and stimulator. You can get more information here:
http://www.miridiatech.com/shop/en/accessories/practice-tools/ag007.html
Dear dr. Larsen, congratulations for the study. I’m a clinical psychologist and health in Sao Paulo – Brazil and I use the auriculotherapy in 100% of my patients with complaints of stress, anxiety, depression … associating it with psychotherapy (cognitive-behavior therapy), with good clinical results, low-cost and safety. Around here the auriculotherapy is still not widely used, but with great chance of expanding the professional environment.
Hello Sir thanks for your imp.I will purches Accugraph
next month then i tell feedback.
Being one of those people who use auricular on just about every patient ,I can attest to its efficiency.
as a clinical and vega kinesiologist, I can find the exact points that need to be treated .
one of the keys to this is to two and three point areas of problems against the body,acupuncture points,diagnostic hand modes,diagnostic ampules, emotional,trauma,chemical,electromagnetic and physiological statesI have found in order to find the reactive ear point. kinesiology also allows me to determine which of nogier’s 3 phases the patient is in and the proper location of the exact point for that phase.
it also allows us to find the point that becomes reactive based upon if the patient system needs to be treated for hyper or hypo function,sns or pns dominance,yin or yang relative state.
DEAR DR ADRIAN THE SECRET OF AURICULOTHERAPY CAN BE CONCLUDED,:(BY USING WHAT,S SO CALLED AUTOMATIC TECHNIQUE.THIS CAN BE DONE BY COVERING THE WHOLE EAR
BY WHAT SO CALLED conductive clay),
I have found over time that if I do a minimum of 3 needles in each ear for every treatment that I boost the compliance of the patient to follow through with the entire treatment plan. Less than 3 doesn’t seem to have the same benefit. In otherwords I will retain the patient better so they get the full benefit of the treatment plan. I ALWAYS use ear needles because of that. The ear needles also act as a sort of turbocharge on the body treatment plan. It pushes the Chevy plan to the Cadillac.
As an acupuncturist, I would love to add more auricular points to my treatment. However, determining the best ones to add and then finding them are my stumbling blocks. Can you share with me your strategy for determining which points to add and then how do you determine their exact location?
Yes, I am one of those not using it. And yes, I find the points a problem. Grab a 2 books and a computer program and you get 3 locations. Then the Chinese vs. French version adds to the complication. Then add different frequencies (if you use a stimulator) and more complexities come up. Back of ear, front of ear, on the ridge, behind the ridge, etc. Then I go to different seminars and get different answers depending on who is teaching. This reduces my confidence which reduces my effectiveness. Maybe they all work and if, as practitioners we could pick one and become confident in it, that would be better.
It is interesting that some statistics show that auriculotherapy accounts for an additional portion of income. That would imply that either acupuncturists are charging ‘extra’ for auriculotherapy, or they have some patients that use only auriculotheropy that they would not see if they did not do that modality.
For me, whether or not I use auriculotherapy, it would not bring in any MORE income, just an increase of effectiveness. That is when I do use it.
Confusion about auricular point location can occur for several reasons. There are both Chinese and French locations for some points and these can both be treated if they are tender or active with a point locater. In advanced auriculotherapy point locations change according to the phase of disease progression –
Phase 1 points are used to treat acute problems, Phase 3 points are used to treat subacute/early chronic problems and Phase 2 points are used to treat chronic, degenerative problems. Yes, the phases do progress from 1 to 3 to 2 only because that is the order in which they were discovered. Phase 2 problems are usually more dense and often require more treatment to get results. In addition, an acute exacerbation of a chronic problem should be treated with both Phase 1(acute) and Phase 3 (chronic) points. There are also master points for different areas being treated and combining these with the general treatment often improves the result. Phase 4 points are on the mastoid surface and these points increase muscle contraction so they can be used for problems like acute migraines to treat the vascular dilation or for palsies to treat motor weakness. These should not be used for acute asthma which is due to bronchospasm. In response to your last question, I do use auriculotherapy in the majority of patients in which I use acupuncture, but as an anesthesiologist that does pain management mostly in the hospital, this treatment is often in addition to other pain management procedures and most insurances and Medicare will not pay me for acupuncture. So, even though I do it, I often don’t get “richly rewarded” for it monetarily. I just hope that it benefits my patients in the long run. It’s like the old joke about peeing in your pants when you’re wearing a dark suit. It gives you a warm feeling but nobody notices.
While I may use auricular therapy frequently, I don’t consider it a “must” for all treatments. It is safe to say that a majority of those I treat receive some measure of auricular therapy. But as always, it is more about the right tool and right approach for the challenge being addressed… and for the person on the table (not all patients are happy to have it). I don’t see how using auricular therapy would have a direct effect on one’s income other than the reasons already stated by someone else here. Additionally, I find your wording a bit assumptive and disrespectful when stating that those who do not use auricular therapy are making “excuses” for their choice. We are all professionals making the best choices we can for (and with) those who seek our asistance. As we all know by studying this medicine, there are many different approaches to the same destination. Why bring such derisive language into it? I think I know the answer to that.
Interesting results. Thank you for doing the study! I am one of the practitioners who use auriculotherapy for about %90 of my patients.
It is highly effective for pain and stress relief. I use it in combination with body points and other modalities in just about every treatment.
I do not charge an extra fee. I am interested to know how the practitioners who have increased income using it, charge.
nesecito informes del aparato para auriculoterapia
A mi modo de ver las cosas y por la experiencia adquirida en relación a la acupuntura, considero que la auriculoterapia es una parte esencial de la misma, es decir la complementa.
Considero que la auriculoterapia da magníficos resultados, en mi experiencia puedo decir que habiéndola utilizado frecuentemente nunca me ha fallado, por eso la recomiendo ampliamente, forma parte de la acupuntura y por lo tanto debe usarse sin ningún reparo.
I use auriculotherapy from a Kinesological approach. Have the patient turn their head left or right while supine. The ear side that muscle test weak with the arm test is the side to treat, then pre treat the master control point first with the right frequency to the area of the ear, then treat the area of the ear corrsponding to the patient symptomatolgy, and you can muscle test which point to treat. Patient compliance and satisfaction indeed with no hassle.
Auriculotherapy is easy from an Applied Kinesology approach. First have the patient turn their head Right of left, and test a strong indicator muscle. Ear thats up while patient supine is the ear to treat. Treat master points first, then muscle test specific ear point of involve ear using the Auricular chart from acugraph or Chinese Classical chart, and treat accordingly with stim with appropiate frequency, or acu aid pellet or Genesen Acutouch pens.
Amazing clinical results. Usually the body will tell you body points, or ear points or Korean hand points if you AK test what is in Priority.
Unfortunately acupuncture is going from a traditional medicine (now with scientific background) to a total “apply to yourself and to your neighbour the needles” practice. What was once kept in the hands of (traditional) physicians, now is a widespread practice, even garbage collectors do apply it, leading to misleading results, creating a bad acupuncture´s image. So sorry – not for the advancements of the techniques – but rather, sorry because it´s getting a “do-it-yourself-and-avoid-going-to-the-physician” image\status.
By the way, yesterday I looked for the garbage collector that works as an acupuncturist as a part-time hobby, and my condition worsened.
I don’t know where you are able to go to a practitioner who does acupuncture as a “hobby”. It is most certainly not a run-of-the-mill, do-it-yourself sort of therapy. Being an acupuncturist requires a very specific, advanced level education and national board certification.
I use Auriculotherapy abuot 96% of the timeon every condition treatable w/T.C.M.. Once in a while I use needlews and Moxa, usually to add more tonification to Kidney, lung, and/or spleen shu pts.
I choose the point formulas by having learned the functions of points like which points create muscle relaxants, anti anxiety peptides, anti-inflammatories, constrict or dislate the blood vessels, etc, etc, and T.C.M. Jing luo Theory, Zang Fu Organ Theory, and 5 Element Theory ( like when tonifying an organ always tonify the mother) etc.
And I don’t use needles because I don’t like to put all those DENTS in the cartilagr, and I have another system that gets at least as good results and can locate and stimulate the perfect most effective point with pinpoint accuracy
I started with Dr Li Chun Huangs’ method 15 years ago and evolved into the system I use to day.
Check out my website for some testimonials.
I’d be willing to do seminar4s on my method
Gene Mc Donald,A.P.
I’d like to add to my previous comment. The main reason I decided to specialize in Auriculo is that in 80% of treatments I get results before they leave my treatment room. Not only does that amaze them but rather tan have to wait until their next treatment to get a comment like” wow all of my Sciatica pain is gone except for this one place on my calf”. So I say O K, lay back down and I’ll get rid of that right now”, which impresses them even more. Other advantages are you can treat an area that has a cast on it, or use seed therapy so they can treat themselves at home for about 5 days so they won’t regress, and more. Eugene Mc Donald,A.P.
Interesting survey! I enjoyed reading the results. I am also one of the practitioners that use auriculotherapy on virtually every patient. I use a combination of the Nogier and Korean models. It is a highly effective way of fine tuning and boosting a treatment. But I think that there were some problems with the survey, sorry! The question that asked why people did not use auriculotherapy had to be answered, even if one answered yes to using it. The only way to deal with it was to click “Other.” Hence all the “Other” answers! And the percentage of income question was also a pigeon hole question, personally i use auriculotherapy with all my body acupuncture patients, one would have to be a something like a NADA protocol therapist (not an acupuncturist) to only use auricular i imagine. And again no provision in that question for those of us who use both, so to derive a conclusion based on income seems erroneous. I use it in over 90 percent of my patients and that is included in 90 percent of my income. It doesn’t add to my income per se, just to the effectiveness of the treatment.
Interesting response. It goes to show how carefully you have to word questions. If you read the question closely, you’ll note we are not asking why you don’t use auriculotherapy, but rather, why don’t you use it MORE FREQUENTLY? This covers everyone who is under 100% utilization.
However, as you point out, most people didn’t get that from the question, and rather assumed it was asking why they didn’t use it at all.
We’ll word more carefully next time.
I use the auriculortherapy on each of my clients as I find it a very effective tool for treatment. It treats the pain, the insomnia, the anxiety, bp problems, endrocrine problems, as well as addictions or weight loss I also use it for any other disorder as the ear is a great resource for reaching the entire body and can therefore treat the entire body. I really have found no better tool to enhance my practice.
Auriculotherapy is a great tool and I use it on all my clients. It treats muscular/skeletal problems, emotional problems,bp problems, endrocrine problems, addictions as well as the pletora of symptoms that we see daily.. It is truly my best tool. I use it with each client and I also use body points. together the treatments are very effective. I also have found the electrical stem in the ear as well as ear seeds are very effective.
Greetings and salutations to you for showing such an interest in Auriculotherapy – and conducting the survey.
May I ask …. “Why did you conduct the survey, and do you plan on having something good to add-in to the AcuGraph function to enhance auriculotherapy treatments ??”. If that’s the case – really looking forward to seeing it.
Best regards ….. Allan
I taught auricular acupuncture at PCOM for several years so I know the points and their value. When I worked in a rehab and residential facility, I used this procedure almost exclusively (patients were mostly in wheel chairs or bed ridden) and got wonderful results. I recommend learning the points and using them>
I use non-needle Auriculotherapy as an adjunct (no extra charge) with every patient regardless of the condition. By itself, you can expect to see miracles.
I found the survey question asking about how much you make from auriculotherapy a little confounding. Like many survey questions some are hard to answer as stated. When the answer is required without comments allowed, surveys can be misleading. According to this question only those who use auriculotherapy exclusively can answer the queston forthrightly. If you use auriculotherapy as an adjunct do you make your money from auriculotherapy? Surveys are not that scientific unless designed really well and can bring us to conclusions which can be misleading.
I have a suggestion: Please consider developing a thermograph measuring device which is set up for back-shu points, thus linking the graphing info to the meridians. -so it can be useful for both acu’s and chiro’s. It will be another super way to diagnose and demonstrate to patients their meridian imbalances. It can rival the myovision in popularity as there are so many more potential therapists who can understand and use it! (acu’s + chiro’s) It can increase interdisciplinary understanding and cooperation between the acu and chiro professions. I would certainly buy one! And I am an acu and considering buying the myovision! But I would prefer it 10x if the software supported the shu-points and meridian explanation/graph representation.
if my ear points have been compromised from a shady acupuncturist, what points do I have to stimulate to reset them? I’ve tried GB-2, SJ-20, SI-18 and the ear points are still non responsive
Love the discussion on this site! thank you all for sharing the information. I am considering auriculo, and have been researching online, your comments have really helped.
I think I’ll go forward with it now, thanks.
Brandon