Honorable Board members of the Virginia Board of Physical Therapy,

The Virginia Physical Therapy Association (VPTA) wishes to submit the following commentary in support of the intended regulatory activity concerning Trigger Point Dry Needling .

The VPTA supports the conversion of the Guidance document that outlines requirements for the performance of Trigger point Dry needling (TDN) in Virginia to legal regulation.  This document clearly details the additional education and practice requirements for Physical Therapists to practice TDN in Virginia beyond the level of the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. The education requirements in the current guidance document are appropriate and represent the appropriate practice model for Physical Therapists to obtain the capacity to perform Dry Needling.  We support the new regulations to include the additional hours needed for certification above the Doctor of Physical Therapy education level and the physician referral requirement, all outlined and included in the original guidance document.

The FSBPT demonstrated in a study of the educational standards of Physical Therapists, that when graduating from a Physical Therapy program accredited  by the Commission on accreditation for Physical Therapy Education, Physical Therapists obtain 86% of the education necessary to perform dry needling and the current additional educational requirements outlined in the guidance document are appropriate and fulfil the remaining educational and practice requirements necessary for the safe and effective performance of this technique.  Physical Therapists are highly trained and educated professionals who specialize in treatment of the Neuromuscular and skeletal movement systems.  They safely and routinely address hyperirritable loci or “Trigger points” with in the muscle with various modalities and dry needling is one such modality. These guidelines will serve well as regulation to govern the practice of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Physical therapists in Virginia. 

Thank you for consideration of our comments.

Respectfully submitted

Joshua Bailey, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, CPed

President-Elect, Virginia Physical Therapy Association