Only fully trained and licensed acupuncturists and medical professionals should be allowed to perform acupuncture. "Dry needling" is one small part of the acupuncture techniques used by acupuncturists. In fact, "dry needling" is a term invented to distract from the fact that it is a type of acupuncture.1. The needles used are also acupuncture needles. This is important because improperly trained practitioners can cause injuries, the most common of which is pneumothorax. Unfortunately, when athletic trainers and other non-fully trained acupuncturists perform dry needling and do injure someone, the headlines then read that the person was injured by acupuncture. This damages the acupuncturist profession. For the safety of the public and the integrity of the acupuncture profession, only fully trained and licensed acupuncturists and medical doctors should be allowed to perform any form of acupuncture, including "dry needling."

1. Dry needling was developed in the 1980s and was modeled after the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique of acupuncture. There are several variations of dry needling, all of which have the same purpose. https://www.verywellhealth.com/dry-needling-4774471?utm_source=chatgpt.com