I have seen in clinic that dry needling is an effective treatment in physical therarpy.  It is an intervention that has helped a numerous amount of patients.  It is currently a part of our practice act and should continue to stay apart of our practice act due to the positive effects it has in the field of physical therapy. Trigger point dry needling is distinctly different from acupuncture as the treatment goal and method is different.  While both practices may use a similar implement or device, the clinical reasoning, technique, and goal of the treatment are different.  Trigger point dry needling specifically addresses hyperirritable loci in the muscle tissue to elicit a physiological response in the muscle tissue to enhance and progress treatments performed by physical therapists.  This response is similar to the response elicited by other treatment modalities.  Again, it is an important aspect in the field of PT and should continue to be used as an intervention to treat and help many more patients.