I am a patient currently receiving dry needling from a physical therapist in Virginia.  I have received dry needling and other similar modalities for more than 15 years.  As a former high school and NCAA athlete, I have sustained numerous injuries that only responded or most effectively responded to dry needling.  Without this form of treatment, I would have been unable to compete in high school and college and would be unable to live my life today without excessive pain.  In short, I view dry needling as a important treatment option necessary for physical therapists to fulfill their professional and medical obligations to their patients.

The decision to administer and receive dry needling should remain a matter solely within the discretion of the physical therapist and his or her patient following the giving of informed consent.  The ability to seek out and receive treatment from a physical therapist offering dry needling treatment should be preserved as a patient right unencumbered by unnecessary and ultra vires oversight by the Board of Physical Therapists or any other agencies of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  To this end, the Board of Physical Therapists should roll back any measures that encumber this right, including, without limitation, the requirement that a patient receive a referral from a physician before receiving dry needling.  The Commonwealth's recognition of "open access" to a physical therapist's treatment must be maintained, and the contemplated measures are anathema to the Commonwealth's tradition of "open access".

*The opinions expressed herein are my own and should not be attributed to any other person or any organization with which I may be associated.