Action | Practice of dry needling |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 2/24/2017 |
The practice of acupuncture should be reserved for those that are trained and licensed to practice acupuncture. Ask any chiropractor, they'll explain it to you well: to protect the safety of the general public, the practice of any medical modality should be reserved for those that are thoroughly trained and licensed to practice said modality. The phrase "dry needling" is simply a more modern way of saying "ahshi acupuncture" and the practice of dry needling/ahshi acupuncture falls under the scope of practice of acupuncturists, not physical therapists. This in no way limits the accessibility of ahshi acupuncture - it simply means patients will need to find an acupuncturist for such care. This means physical therapists can focus on strength, mobility and structural balancing through hands on work and the creation of self care programs - the tasks their training programs teach them to do well. It would be a disservice to the general public, opening the potential for unsafe needling practices, to allow anyone other than a licensed acupuncturist the ability to use needles in such a way.