Jennifer Matthews: Acupuncture can help back pain, arthritis, even acid reflux, but just what do these tiny needles do?
Helene Langevin: I became curious and I actually decided to go to acupuncture school and study part-time while I was practicing medicine.
Jennifer Matthews: While studying what happens during acupuncture, Dr. Helene Langevin found something remarkable.
Helene Langevin: The tissues actually appear to grab the needle. Winding around the needle just like winding spaghetti around a fork basically.
Jennifer Matthews: Dr. Langevin and her colleagues designed this device to measure what happens during acupuncture. They found when needles enter the skin, the connective tissues changes.
Helene Langevin: So it's actually stretching the tissues.
Jennifer Matthews: Connective tissue is essential for wellbeing. It connects, supports, and binds the body's tissue at the organs.
Dexter Randall: I like these little John Deeres.
Jennifer Matthews: Dexter Randall, a no-nonsense farmer had concerns about acupuncture, but he was loosing 12 year battle with back pain.
Dexter Randall: I was at a point that I was just in total frustration and in pain and one day I said why not.
Jennifer Matthews: Dexter sought help from acupuncturist Robert Davis and almost immediately acupuncture did what a Chiropractors, massage, and physical therapy never could.
Dexter Randall: I can go back well and actually eat well, and do a day's work and feel like I am going to survive to see the next day.
Jennifer Matthews: Doctor Langevin says helping doctors understand and better yet see what acupuncture does in the body is a step at the right direction. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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