More than three million adults and 150,000 kids turned to acupuncture for their ailments in 2008.

Now experts are hoping to find the science behind what one girl calls her only source of relief.

Jessica Velez shows no mercy on the court.

"I love the competition and the intensity,’ Jessica Velez said.

The only intensity in her life now is between her ears.

"It's a constant throbbing pain that never goes away. It's 24/7 everyday,” Jessica said.

A slew of ER trips, MRI’s, and spinal taps turned up bizarre results. Jessica was diagnosed with daily persistent headache syndrome, a mysterious chronic headache disorder.

“This is basically, like, my headache calendar,” Jessica said.
Jessica tracks her pain daily.

When medication failed, she turned to Rush University Medical Center Acupuncturist Angela Johnson.

"Acupuncture is not the "magic bullet" for everybody but it's certainly, certainly worth the try," Angela Johnson Chinese Medicine Practitioner from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago said.

It's based on the idea that so called pressure points control energy flow through the body. One study found acupuncture switches off the brain's response to pain. Another study shows 70 percent of kids said acupuncture helped their symptoms.

"Studies do show that there's absolutely a biochemical physiological impact that acupuncture can have,” Angela said.

Experts say using a licensed acupuncturist is key. Find one at nccaom.org.

"After she put only a few needles in, the pain almost went down to a five out of ten,” Jessica said.

From shooting pain to shooting hoops, it’s a big win.

Rush University Medical Center is still enrolling kids in the study to see if acupuncture improves their quality of life. You have to be between five and 20 years old and experiencing pain. For more information call 312-563-2531.