Honorable Sirs & and Ladies...,

I work with PT's in my area who are intererested in promoting their expertise....I duly appreciate their education and understanding of the body's wonderful structure and I think it excells in areas like rehabilitation.

But all therapies have limit on scope of practice and I've seen this from a number of perspectives. I particularly believe dry needling rules are illegal, because they would allow physical therapists to engage in acts that are outside the legal scope of practice for physical therapy as defined by Virginia's General Assembly. There is nothing to support that the General Assembly ever intended to allow physical therapists to insert acupuncture needles into patients absent the same level of training required for licensed acupuncturists. 

Do they understand anatomy and the body and trigger points?  Yes....but taking a 54 hour class and learning a technique or two to get the body to respond to a singular affect via needles is absurd.  Yes, and can have consequences not intended with untrained. 

As a licensed Acupuncturist with 15 years additional experiece as a hands on Massage Therapist, there is much more that tying to illicit "a response from a trigger point".  The manipulation of the needles, the placement along muscle trains and classcial musculo-tendon pathways is paramount to not causing the patient pain and seeing a positive outcome.

I think because of the time constraints PT's are under with insurance, they really don't understand how the body reacts to needles and are limited in their practice to make additional time available based on patients personal needs.  THEY OPERATE ON A 15 MINUTE CLOCK ~ we don't....who do you want sticking a needle in you, someone who works with them day in and day out and isn't a slave to the clock or a person with 54 hours of instruction who has 15 minutes?????????

In my last 5 1/2 years here in my area, I've had over two dozen patients tell me they were fearful of attempting to try acupuncture again becuase of a previous session by a PT or a Chiropractor just trying to expand their scope of practice....the common denominator is "Pain"....

The Medical Boards in Virginia don't hold us in high esteem....and in fact I have little hope our pleas will be honored...after all...we are a minority.....but perhaps our practice is an art just as everyone elses is that requries the use of those skills in a particular and highly sequestered way.

Please hear us.......

P.S.  It takes me some time to think about whether I want to work with a trigger point via hands or pins......and if I use pins....the session is 45 minutes....in order to obtain maximine results for the patient.....

WHY DON'T PT'S JUST REFER  OUT???