I utilize dry needing treatment and have found it to be safe and an effective adjunct to other treatments provided by physical therapists.  It is unfortunate to read through many of the previous comments by people who aren't informed on what physical therapists do, the education requirments to become a PT, or what dry needling treatment actually is. 

Dry needling is not acupuncture and the only commonality are the needles.  Every patient is educated on that fact and the fact that i am not trained in acupuncture.  Trigger point Dry Needling specifically addresses hyperirritable loci in the muscle tissue to elicit a physiological response directly in the target muscle tissue to enhance and progress treatments performed by the Physical Therapists.  This response is similar to the response elicited by other treatment modalities frequently utilized by Physical Therapists.

Physical therapists are highly trained in treatment of musculoskeletal and neurological disorders through multiple modalities and dry needling is one such modality.  Hundreds of hours of acupuncture training is not necessary since it is not acupuncture.  PT's undergo years of didatic and clinical education on anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical reasoning, etc, etc which more than prepare us to perform the technique of dry needling.     

It is unfortunate that so many other health practioners are against PT's providing this modality and are not concerned with a modatility that is currently helping patients reduce their symptoms and return to their prior level of function.