As a 3rd year acupuncture student, I frequently attend workshops on trigger point release/dry needling. Having participated in seven trigger point release or 'dry needling'  workshops/seminars last year alone, I can attest that it is a very effective procedure for treating some pain. This is a technique of needling that requires many hours to perfect, beyond the 27 hours of training PT's are given to perform dry needling (which is just trigger point acupuncture). Physical therapists have no training in the deep medical implications of needling, and don’t understand the broader implications of their actions on physiology, leading to safety concerns. My concern is that in the wrong hands, much harm can be inflicted. I cannot imagine embarking upon this method of treatment without the 12 intense months I've spent practicing this method under professional supervision. 

Dry needling turns the noninvasive procedure of a physical therapy session, into an invasive one, something PTs do not have training for. Flag are going up with reporst of incidents of nerve damage and punctured lungs caused by dry needling. Last year, Olympic freeskiier, Torin Yater-Wallace was hospitalized for a collapsed lung that he attributed to dry needling treatments from his physical therapists. This isnt so much an issue of proprietary, but one of public safety!