How Acupuncture Can Support You During Detox

You might have heard of acupuncture detox, but what is it? Also known as acudetox or the NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol, it is a set of five points in the ear used for trauma, PTSD, addiction, and mental health conditions. Three of the points correspond to the kidney, liver, and lung, the body’s primary organs for detoxification, and the other two points calm the nervous system. The NADA protocol was originally developed in the mid 1970’s at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, NY for acute withdrawal (1) but has proven helpful for many other conditions. Here in Colorado, the Colorado Acupuncture Medical Reserve Corps (CAMRC) provides free NADA treatments to evacuees, first responders, and others during and after disaster events.

Beyond just acupuncture detox, auriculotherapy or ear acupuncture is a powerful tool in the treatment of neurologic conditions such as migraine, radiculopathy, epilepsy, and even insomnia (2). The outer ear has a unique innervation with nerves from the central nervous system such as the vagus nerve going to the skin of the ear, so stimulating points on the ear can help regulate sympathetic and parasympathetic tone. Promoting parasympathetic tone, the state of rest and digest, can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

Auriculotherapy can also be used on its own or with regular acupuncture as a treatment for pain. A technique called Battlefield Acupuncture was developed in 2001 as a method for the rapid relief of pain. This technique uses semi-permanent needles in ear areas corresponding to certain areas of the brain such as the thalamus and cingulate gyrus and is thought to work by modulating the processing of pain in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) (3). Other auriculotherapy systems use the ear as a map to treat the painful body part, such as the neck or back, with the corresponding area on the ear.

For the needle-averse, ear seeds, tacks, or pellets have also been used successfully to treat the same conditions as ear acupuncture. One study showed that after placing ear seeds on the “fingers” point of one hand, study participants showed a significantly higher pain threshold in the fingers 24 hours after treatment (4). At Wild Blue Acupuncture and Wellness we also offer ear seeds with Swarovski crystals for a little extra bling!


  1. Mitchell, E.R. (1995). Fighting drug abuse with acupuncture: The treatment that works. Pacific View Press; Berkeley, CA, USA.

  2. Stanton, G. (2018). Auriculotherapy in neurology as an evidence-based medicine: A brief overview. Medical Acupuncture, 30(3), 130–132. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2018.1280 

  3. Niemtzow R. Battlefield Acupuncture. (2001). Medical Acupuncture, 19(4):225–228 [Google Scholar]

  4. Santoro, A., Nori, S. L., Lorusso, L., Secondulfo, C., Monda, M., & Viggiano, A. (2015). Auricular acupressure can modulate pain threshold. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/457390