As a nationally board certified licensed acupuncturist, I routinely recommend physical therapy to my patients.  (However, they must discuss that option with their physician and receive a prescription for PT in order to initiate therapy.)

Similar to acupuncturists, physical therapists can address a wide range of health conditions from musculoskeletal and neurological to respiratory and digestive.  I recommend that physical therapists direct their patients to a respected local acupuncturist when they feel “dry needling” would be beneficial, and likewise, acupuncturists should recommend a competent PT to patients when their specific skill set is required.

Traditional Chinese Medicine employs physical activity such as Tai Chi and Qigong, herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, tui na, gua sha, dietary advice and stress management techniques to align a patient physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically.  Our positive results are a direct reflection of this multi-level approach.

Working together as an integrative team would produce far superior patient outcomes than either profession attempting to learn a subset of the others’ knowledge base.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Bill Reddy, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.

Director, Integrative Health Policy Consortium (IHPC)

Co-Chair, Federal Policy Committee

Former President, Acupuncture Society of Virginia (ASVA)

Former Vice President, American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM)