Dry needling is a form of orthopedic acupuncture and should only be performed by a licensed acupuncturist who is properly trained.  Acupuncturists go through 3.5-4 years of schooling and clinical rotations in order to graduate from a Masters and Doctorate program.  Physical therapists who do "dry needling" take weekend class trainings.  Unfortunately this improper training and lack of experience poses a danger to the general public.  Filiform needles can indeed cause injuries to patients when done improperly.  All acupuncturists are well informed on how to insert, where to insert, and how to manipulate needles when necessary in order to treat orthopedic conditions.  Physical therapists often claim that dry needling is not acupuncture because they do not follow "Eastern medicine" but believe it or not a lot of acupuncturists are well versed in "Western medicine".  Our education incorporates science and physiology into what we practice.  Many states do not allow physical therapists to practice acupuncture under the term "dry needling" because it is not within their scope of practice.  If a physical therapist believes needling to trigger a release response in the muscle fibers is necessary in a patient, they should be happy to refer out, just as any acupuncturist would be happy to refer out patients who are in need of proper strength training and rehab.