Auricular Acupressure for Musculoskeletal Pain
/Auricular Acupressure for Musculoskeletal Pain
Auricular acupressure is simple intervention that may be of use for patients as a part of a multidisciplinary pain management strategy (Dai et al., 2025; Jan et al., 2017; Murakami et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2023). Acknowledging that traditional narratives are outdated auricular acupressure can be reframed as a form of peripheral nerve stimulation technique in pressure points are stimulated manually or with electricity. Auricular acupressure can be used to stimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (the inner conch of the ear), the auriculotemporal nerve, the lesser occipital nerve, and the greater auricular nerve which may have several therapeutic benefits (Butt et al., 2020; Usichenko et al., 2017; Usichenko et al., 2022).
There are different auricular maps used in different regions (e.g., France, United States, Germany, and China). One of the most common standardized method used to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain is called the battlefield acupuncture protocol (Dai et al., 2025). The name comes from its use in the military where other pain management treatments may be hard to come by. In this protocol there are five auricular acupuncture points that are stimulated, which stimulate most of the major nerves in the outer part of the ear. These points are called: Cingulate Gyrus, Thalamus, Omega 2, Point Zero, and Shen Men.
Battlefield acupuncture is a specialized auricular acupuncture method designed for pain control in both military and civilian settings. This technique is considered an effective alternative approach for managing pain.
References and Sources
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