To whom it may concern:

I am a licensed acupuncturist in the state of New York. I graduated from a school with a 3 year masters degree program, with an entire year devoted to supervised clinical practice. At my school, I learned and practiced trigger point needling, or what some physical therapists call "dry needling".

Much of my practice revolves around trigger point needling. This is a technqiue that requires great skill, know-how and awareness. I have never come close to harming anyone, as I've been well trained and worked under supervision for a year to perfect my technqiue. Subsequent to graduation, I have spent years further perfecting my technique and trigger point skills on a daily basis. The thought that people who have not experienced a similar education are being enabled to practice this type of acupuncture dismays me, as it's a needling technique that can cause harm if improperly utilized. It's not enough to know anatomy - you must know the needle depth in relation to muscle, bone, and ligament. This requires practising under supervision for many, many hours. It's not enough to know how to insert a needle. One must develop hand and wrist movements that respond to the muscles being treated.  For a physical therapist to perform trigger point needling, with the limited amount of instruction and supervised training they receive, is akin to a beginning piano player thinking he's ready to perform a concert at Carnegie Hall. It's ridiculous, quite frankly.

Also, if you peruse social media, you will find many physical therapists claiming to treat internal condtions such as sinusitus and anxiety, using "dry needling". Such claims are wildly outside their scope of practice. Yet, if the state grants PT's with the right to practice "dry needling" without adequate training, the doors will open to all types of abuse. With my knowledge of anatomy, my daily practice working with muscles and ligaments, would I take a scalpel and be allowed to legally start performing the work of surgeons? The concept would be considered ridiculous in today's world. Similarly with "dry needling", which is in plain words, acupuncture, and performed with acupuncure needles. Dry needling by physical therapists is an audacious encroachment upon our trained and educated profession, and one that will lead to more injuries and pain. If PT's want to practice acupuncture, they should return to school and be properly trained and tested for this profession.

Sincerely,

Randi Hoffmann, L. Ac.