I fully support the passage of the proposed regulations to ensure the safe practice of dry needling by licensed and appropriately trained physical therapists.  Physical therapists have been safely performing the procedure of dry needling in Virginia for years.  The incredibly thorough and comprehensive training I received through Myopain has enabled me to perform professionally skilled and safe, cautious technique many thousands of times since learning the technique 9 years ago.  

This revived argument by acupuncturists that PT's are performing acupuncture when doing dry needling is absurd and exhausting already. Trigger point dry needling performed by physical therapists is but one technique we implement to release myofascial trigger points.  The needles are simply tools we use to achieve our goal and merely serve as extensions of our fingers allowing us to penetrate through other tissues to directly "touch" and release the trigger points within the muscle belly.  There is no similarity between acupuncture (Eastern medicine) and dry needling (Western medicine).  Acupuncturists place needles in precisely mapped out Meridien points with many simultaneous needles superficially placed for an extended period of time to restore the energy flow (Chi) within the body. PT's palpate to locate randomly located trigger points and, using one needle at a time, penetrate deep into the muscle to release the nodule.  It is no different than manual release-- it just uses a tool, the needle.

Physical therapists are experts in Myofascial trigger point release no matter what tools we use-- be it our fingers or needles-- thus dry needling is WELL within the scope of physical therapy.  The fact that there are only a handful of states where dry needling is not allowed to be performed by PT's, as compared to the handful of states that allowed it 9 years ago when I was trained, is indicative that it is a widely accepted, legal, and safe physical therapy procedure.