Action | Practice of dry needling |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 2/24/2017 |
Scope of practice relates to procedure not theory. Whatever rationale a practitioner follows when inserting a needle has no bearing upon whether they are performing acupuncture.A practitoner may choose to use contemporary methods such as neuroanatomical or trigger point needling. They choose to focus on myofascial planes or channel theory. Whichever thought process is chosen, it is still practicing acupuncture. If a physical therapist would like to add acupuncture to their toolkit, then they should be properly educated in the practice and obtain an acupuncture license. An acupuncturist cannot take a 24 hour continuing education class and practice physical therapy safely and effectively. A physical therapist should be held to the same standard as other health care practitioners. The safety of our populace must come first.