The expansion of Physical Therapy Scope in Virginia to allow dry needling should not be permitted. A similar effor has been attempted by Physical Therapists in Utah and I, being a licensed acupuncturist in Utah with a Masters in Science in the subject and 3200 hours of training, am firmly opposed to this expansion of scope. My first reason for my opposition centers on public safety. You will, if this expansion is approved, be exposing the public to insufficiently trained and prepared providers. The training for physical therapists in the area they propose, is minimal. They might have you believe otherwise, but it is pitifully inadequate. Currently they train in a two weekend format---often half of it on video, often with no real live practise component. I, on the other hand, only as typical of a current acupuncture school graduate (and yes our schools are licensed, regulated institutions with monitoring and examinatin proceedures fully in place for 25 years or more) have submitted myself to the rigor and full training which SAFE, and knowledgeable. There is no way the theory of acupuncture can be imparted in 2, or even 20 weekends, to someone learning it. There is a very good reason acupuncture programs are long---namely, it takes that long to learn what it does and why and how to diagnose and treat people. We learn anatomy and theory and patient care, regarding needles, none of which Physical Therapists undertake or acquire.

Did you know there have been a number of injuries sustained by the public in recent years by Physical Therapists, MDS and Chiros doing Dry Needling? In Canada an Olympic athlete sustained pneumothorax after a doctor gave her dry needling. There have been 5 instances I was aware of up to 2013 when I stopped counting, of injuries to patients getting dry needling from these flimsily trained pretenders to the art and science of acupuncture. It is strongly incumbent upon you as regulatory authorities protecting the public not to allow this to happen to the public in your state.

A myth that needs to be exposed : PTs will tell you dry needling is not "acupuncture" so they are not practising "acupuncture". Hogwash. They are using known acupuncture points in their so-called "trigger points" . They are trying to use a semantic end run around your common sense. Don't let it happen. They say they are not using the "energy flows and meridians " of standard acupuncture. Well---they are.

Dont be fooled and sucked in by these charlatans who seek to coopt an ancient and sophisticated science like acupuncture.

More on training. I started out as an observer in the school clinic (which treated 4000 people a year of the public) in the major US city where I attended graduate school in acupuncture. I did nothing but observe my first semester or two, then we were moved up to removing the needles, and participating around the edges of the intake and treatment verbally and applying linaments, etc. Then we were, over a year or two, allowed, under the strict and immediate visual supervision of a professor, allowed to needle. And then in our final year, allowed to treat patients, with the professor in an adjacent room,. who would review all our point locations and treatment choices before approving them for each patient. Thus, we were stepped up, over 5 years, to finally treating people. It is an extremely shocking, wild, and irresponsible suggesting that PTs can undergo the shoddy, pathetically short and inadequate trainging they undergo, and be prepared to treat humans with needles. No way! No way on Gods green earth!! Even if they were to up their training to 200 hours, which they propose, in some places, would it be remotely adequate. Please exercise what is only good judgement and flately and emphatically deny this attempt to expand their scope using dry needling.