Action | Practice of dry needling |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 2/24/2017 |
For the safety and the maximum benefit of the public, I oppose PT dry needling. Physical therapists need to go through extensive training to identify and treat physical or movement-related impairments, while acupuncturists also are required to be trained rigorously in oriental medicine (which include acupuncture, herbology, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nutrition, Tai Ji, Qi Gong, and Tui Na). Acupuncture is just part of this holistic approach under the guidance of TCM theory, which is often incorporated with herbs and/or Nutrition (and sometimes even Tui Na or Tai Ji/Qi Gong). By isolating out just the acupuncture needling from the rest of the TCM therapy, and by only doing triggering points (TCM includes both triggering points, meridian points, and extraordinary merdian points), from a mere 50-hr trained PT vs the holistic approach from a 3000-hr trained acupuncturist, we a doing the public a disservice if not outright placing them in danger. Physical therapist should focus on what they do the best and leave the acupuncture needles in the vastly more capable hands of a licensed acupuncturists with thousands of years of training behind their education.