Title: Acupuncture Helps Boomer — A True Story of Recovery
In the spring of 2007, a beautiful young horse named Boomer started showing some unusual symptoms. At first his owner, Becky Wickesberg, noticed that she thought his lips were just a tiny bit droopier than normal. It was a very subtle change so she decided to watch it carefully. Then a few days later it seemed like his nose was slightly tipped to the side. The next day it was definitely tipped to the side, so Becky called her veterinarian right away.
Dr. Paula Valeria came to examine the horse and discovered he had facial nerve paralysis. When a horse has facial nerve paralysis, FNP, the motor function to one side of its face is impaired. The facial nerve’s job is to tell the muscles what the brain wants them to do.
Facial nerve paralysis is usually the result of trauma. There are four common causes of FNP; a horse may hit its head, it may be hit in the head, a facial nerve could be cut, or the horse may just lay for a long time on its halter. To this day we are not certain of the cause of Boomer’s facial nerve paralysis.
There are no standard traditional facial nerve paralysis treatments and Boomer’s condition did not improve over time. In fact, his condition continued to worsen.
Dr. Paula suggested they find out whether or not acupuncture might be able to help him. Acupuncture is an ancient treatment method, originally used in China, as part of a complete health care system known as Traditional Chinese Medicine. During an acupuncture treatment needles are inserted into special spots on the body called acupoints to cause a desired healing effect. These needles work to balance an energy network in the body, or one’s qi (pronounced “chee”).
Becky was happy to try the acupuncture treatments because she was desperate to give her favorite horse some relief.
Facial nerve paralysis not only causes an odd appearance of the face, but it is also actually quite dangerous for the horse. As in Boomer’s case, his left eyelid was unable to blink and he was not producing tears. His left eye was completely unprotected from the environment.
Three weeks after the start of Boomer’s condition, the doctor started acupuncture treatments. During each treatment acupuncture needles were inserted into his face, back and legs.
When treatments were started, the left side of Boomer’s face was completely droopy. He could not blink his left eye, his left ear hung limply to the side, his muzzle was dramatically twisted to the right and his lips hung loosely. Everyone was ecstatic about Boomer’s first treatment, because he could blink his left eye weakly afterwards. By his third treatment, he could blink normally and move his ear. By the fourth treatment, Boomer looked nearly normal. By the end of his treatment regime Boomer’s face looked completely normal!