Strong arguments have already been made against Physical Therapists practicing "Dry Needling," which include:

1. izing of Acupuncture in order to circumvent licensing requirements
   • As many pointed out, Dry Needling is simply an Acupuncture technique where needles are placed in tender or painful areas (aka ashi points, aka trigger points). To claim Dry Needling is not Acupuncture is to avoid the proper training & licensure that other Acupuncturists must receive.
2. Unethical & illegal insurance billing
   • ??There are currently no procedure codes for Dry Needling. This means if PTs are getting paid for it, they must be billing under a code that does not include needle insertion. On the other hand, if they are billing it as an Acupuncture procedure & somehow get reimbursed, then they are admitting Dry Needling is Acupuncture & are thus practicing Acupuncture without a license. 
3. Lack of adequate clinical hours
   • PTs simply stating they have studied many hours in Anatomy & Physiology does not infer expertise of inserting & manipulating Acupuncture needles in the human body. By that logic I should be able to prescribe medication as a Chiropractor since my educational requirements mirror those of a Physician Assistant.  

The PTs & PTAs who have taken the time to become Licensed Acupuncturists in order to correctly administer Acupuncture understand why Dry Needling jeopardizes not only the Acupuncture profession, but the general public (see comments posted by Bridget Boylan, PT, LAc, Sandra Luczynski, PTA, LAc, and Lisa Gibilie, PTA, LAc). These PTs & PTAs are against Dry Needling because they realize Acupuncture is a complex field of medicine that can easily take a lifetime to learn in order to practice successfully & safely.

As both a Chiropractor & an Acupuncturist, I cannot emphasize enough that if one wants to utilize a needle for therapeutic benefit, then one should study the very occupation that defined it: Acupuncture.