Stimulating Pressure Points in Ear Could Help Treat Kids’ Chronic Abdominal Pain

Several publications reported on a UB pilot study suggesting that stimulating pressure points in the ear could be a promising treatment for functional abdominal pain disorder (FAPD), which affects 13.5 percent of children and adults. “Our objectives with this study were to determine the level of auricular acupoint activity in FAPD and also to assess how participants felt about this kind of therapy,” said Rachel E. Borlack, MD, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics. More than 85 percent of the FAPD patients in the study reported interest in using self-administered acupressure to manage their symptoms, and more than 40 percent said they would definitely be interested in traveling to a clinic just for auriculotherapy.