As a licensed acupuncturist I am extremely concerned about the safety of our patients receiving dry needling from physical therapists. Acupuncturists receiver over 1200 hours of training including hundreds of supervised hours before treating patients on our own. Physical therapists often begin treating patients on their own after 12+ hours of continuing education which includes theory, needling skills and treatment protocol. Needling is not in the scope of medicine for physical therapists and I think that it is negligent on the part of PT boards nationwide to allow physical therapists to put patients in harms way by using an invasive protocol that they are untrained to perform. For the safety of patients throughout the country it is my hope that physical therapists would be held to the same standard as acupuncturists or at least MDs and chiropractors which are required to have at least 200+ hours in training before practicing 'dry needling' or acupuncture on patients.