Athletic trainers are trained, certified, and experienced in a wide variety of injury management modalities and procedures.  In my training for dry needling and through the acquisition of my dry needling certification, it was stressed to me that dry needling alone will not resolve many issues.  The advantage athletic trainers have in dry needling is our experience with tissue response and clinical outcomes following injury.  We have direct contact with our athletes daily and can monitor their progression closely.  Because of our exposure and experience, we have an inept ability to combine the concept of dry needling with our foundational skill in tissue mobilization, strengthening, and musculoskeletal health.

Similar to other modalities we use on a daily basis, dry needling is simply creating an environment in the body to be more efficient in responding to our rehabilitation and treatment techniques.  

There are risks involved with dry needling, but athletic trainers have vast experience and knowledge with human anatomy and we can mitigate these risks by avoiding problematic areas.  As long as athletic trainers only perform techniques they are certified in and comfortable with, the risks of dry needling are minimal in a traditional sports medicine environment.

In addition, at the university I work at it is our policy to obtain a prescription from our team doctors; we have to provide patient demographics and our clinical reason for administering this modality.