She was just 25 when I met her in 1981. A spunky, larger-than-life goldsmith with a wicked sense of humour, big hair and a loud, cheery voice, Laura Beard had the world by the tail.

Dry needling alone does not produce all the beneficial effects that acupuncture itself offers, such as relaxation and improvement in mood, but it can relieve pain and increase range of movement. It is a very useful tool in our “toolbox”.

When acupuncture was introduced to Toronto's Lyndhurst Hospital in 1992, The Medical Advisory Committee wisely restricted our treatment to the management of pain. Obviously, if we were to try to cure paralysis with our needles, everyone would want treatment.

One of the most powerful clinical acupuncture tools is actually based on the anatomy of the brain.

I remember it clearly, as if it were yesterday. November 12, 1976, the Globe and Mail front page: “Acupuncture chemical is effective in blocking pain, researcher says”. To say I was gob-smacked is to understate the reality of my world at the time.