Action | Practice of dry needling |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 7/26/2019 |
I do not think expanding the role of physical therapists (PT) to dry needling is in the best interest of the public. First of all, dry needling is part of acupuncture, it should be done by well trained licensed acupuncturists who has been training for 3-4 years on that. Secondly, dry needling is an invasive technique and PT training for invasive techniques is very minimal. Even with post-grad training, their education in needle technique & safety is less than 5% of what is required for licensed acupuncturists which should be the bar. This lapse puts the public at risk of injury and infection, and is an inappropriate expansion of their scope of practice. I strongly oppose PT to perform dry needling.