Qi in the Green Mountains

One of the more unusual requests I've had from my old Yankee dairy farmer clients is to come to the farm and perform acupuncture on one of his cows.  I was taught acupuncture by my former partner Mark Basol, who is a certified veterinary acupuncturist.  I am not a formally trained acupuncturist but Mark taught me some basic techniques and he continues to help us with specific cases. 

Acupuncture has been used in animals for over 4000 years but was only popularised in the US in the last 40 years or so. In the past few decades the practice has exploded and is now used extensively in small animals and horses in both traditional and alternative practices.  Our practice uses acupuncture primarily for nerve damage, especially the nerve damage that originates from calving called calving paralysis.

Bouncing Baby Bull Calf

 

Calving paralysis happens when the calf puts pressure on nerves inside mom's birth canal that are responsible for controlling muscles in the hind legs.  This often happens if a very large calf is born or there is too much fat deposited in the birth canal.  Calving paralysis can also happen when people are too aggressive when they pull a calf, causing nerve damage to the cow. 

 

This week one of my organic farmers called because one of his cows had some nerve damage from giving birth to a large bull calf.  When I arrived #84 was resting quietly with her newborn lying nearby.  After a physical exam that assured me there were no medical problems like low blood calcium, I inserted 4 acupuncture needles in locations taught me by Mark, hooked up a stimulation unit, and set a timer for10 minutes.


 

    

# 84, day one



I returned today for a second treatment. 84 was lying quietly but immediately got up when I approached her. She sill had some weakness in her left rear leg, the foot knuckled forward a bit when she moved it, but in general she was much stronger and stood calmly and munched on hay as I treated her.

 

# 84, day two

I'm steeped in western medicine and can't claim to know how acupuncture works - something about qi and energy flows - but the animals tell me it does.  My wife and I have had old dogs that have had a acupuncture "tune ups" and literally jumped down from the table.  I once saw a dog that had been run over by a boat trailer, recumbent and in quite a bit of pain, stand up and walk away after an acupuncture treatment. I'm not throwing away my antibiotics, fluids and pain killers but I'm convinced acupuncture has it's place in animal medicine.