I have had issues with my low back, hip, and - most recently - neck, since 2016, and dry needling has been a part of my physical therapy care for all my recovery tracks. I have received care from three different PTs for my various injuries, all using a combination of treatments, not just needling; I found needling in this application to be a godsend, speeding and easing my recovery each time.

I had trust in the therapists’ - given their clinical backgrounds - to provide the best combination of treatment options for my needs, and to use their extensive knowledge of anatomy & physiology to perform needling safely. I was never disappointed. I never had adverse effects from the treatments, and have seen dramatic benefit. For me, when dry needling was done with STEM, I saw great relief of the most acute symptoms for 24-72 hours, which enabled me to better perform my therapy exercises, speeding my recovery and returning my quality of life sooner.

Limiting or preventing PT use of needling practices needlessly limits patient treatment and recovery options, inhibits collaboration among providers with differing backgrounds that could further propel patient care discoveries, and - quite frankly - just seems ill-founded and silly. 

 

Why do I say it’s silly? Look at this through a different lens: would the Commonwealth tell a certified chef they can’t use a meat cleaver because they weren’t a butcher? What about telling a roofer they couldn’t use a hammer because they weren’t a carpenter? Of course not! In each example, you have an expert in their field; just because their backgrounds are different doesn’t make one any more or less qualified than the other to apply the same tool using their specialized training and expertise. 

 

Given my experiences and thinking about the level of training and experience of PTs, it is 100% my view that is in the best interest of the citizens of the Commonwealth to allow PTs to use needling in their practice.