Auriculotherapy fails to relieve chronic pain. A controlled crossover study

a Enthuslastlc reporte of the effectlveness of electricat stimulatlon of the outer ear for the relist of pain ("auriculotherapy") have led to increasing use of the procedure.In the present study, auriculotherapy was evaluated in 36 patients suffering from chronic pain, using a controlled crossover design.The first erperiment compared the effects ol stimulation of designated aurlculotherapy polnts, and ol control polnts unrelated to the painful area.A second erperiment cornpared stimulation of designatsd points with a no-stimslation placebo control.Paln-ralief scoros obtalned with the llcGill Paln Questionnaire failed to show any differences in either experlment.lt ls concluded that auriculotherapy ls not an effective therapeutic procedure lor chronic pain.ENTHUSIASTIC reports'-'of the effectiveness of electrical stimulation of the outer ear for the relief of pain ("auriculotherapy") have led to in- creasing use of the procedure.Nogier' proposed that (1) the body surface and visceral structures are represented at the auricle in a somatotopic organization that resembles an inverted fetus, (2) disease or pain at any