Does auriculotherapy have therapeutic effectiveness? An overview of systematic reviews.


Author: Vieira A1, Reis AM2, Matos LC3, Machado J4, Moreira A5

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal; Santa Maria Health School, 4049-024, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory of Applied Physiology, ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: andreia.vieira@santamariasaude.pt.

<sup>2</sup>Laboratory of Applied Physiology, ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal.

<sup>3</sup>Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.

<sup>4</sup>ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory of Applied Physiology, ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, 4099-030, Porto, Portugal.

<sup>5</sup>Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, 2040-413, Rio Maior, Portugal.
Conference/Journal: Complement Ther Clin Pract.
Date published: 2018 Nov
Other:
 Volume ID: 33   ,  Pages: 61-70   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.08.005. Epub  2018 Aug 23.   ,  Word Count: 240  
    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Auriculotherapy is a therapeutic technique used for a wide variety of conditions. Nevertheless, similarly to any health related intervention, the clinical use of this therapy requires scientific evidence of effectiveness in order to support its rational use. The main goal of this article is to critically analyze published literature on auriculotherapy and to provide an overview of the effectiveness of this technique in the management of health disorders.



METHODS: The inventory of published reviews on this subject was carried out in November 2017, by assessing the following computerized databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EBMR, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL Plus NRC and Science Direct. Were only considered the systematic reviews based on meta-analysis with high methodological quality described according to AMSTAR (Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews). The eligible articles were systematically reviewed to find out in which health conditions auriculotherapy can be used with effectiveness.



RESULTS: A total of 14 reviews were eligible according to the inclusion and exclusion criterions. Those reviews were focused on the management of insomnia, smoking cessation and pain, within the clinical scope of Neurology, Orthopaedics and Rheumatology.



CONCLUSIONS: Auriculotherapy has shown to have positive effects while associated to conventional treatments of insomnia, chronic and acute pain. Further well designed studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique in the treatment of other health conditions.



Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.



KEYWORDS: Acupressure; Auricular acupuncture; Auriculotherapy; Insomnia; Pain; Smoking cessation



PMID: 30396628  DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.08.005