Acupuncture is the pratice of inserting needles into points on the body chosen for their therapeutic effects. 

Dry Needling is the practice of inserting needles into points on the body chosen for their therapeutic effects. 

There is a written historical record demonstating the practice of acupuncture dating back the the third century BCE. Over the millenia, multiple styles of acupuncture have developed, which vary in their diagnostic techniques and point selection strategies. Those who claim that dry needling is distict from acupuncture because its point selection is based on physical body structures such as muscles instead of meridian energy lines are objectively uneducated in acupuncture theory and treatment. Acupunture has a centuries-long history of treating muscle knots that elicit pain when pressed, even if they do not fall on the meridian lines (termed "ashi" points). Palpation of the body to locate areas of physical tension so that they may be treated is essential to the diagnostic and treatment process of multiple styles of acupuncture. It is not new. It is not different. It is acupuncture. 

Inserting needles into the body requires extensive training, including thorough hands-on clinical practice under supervision, to protect the public from dangerous injuries such as punctured organs (lung, liver, kidneys, heart, etc.), punctured arteries, or nerve damage, all of which can be caused by improper needling. 

To protect the public, the state of Virginia currently requires acupuncturists seeking licensure:

1) to gradutate from a 3 year, accredited program totaling 1905 hours, at least 660 hours of which must be clinical,

2) to pass three national board certification exams and a separate Clean Needle Technique exam,

3) to complete ongoing continuing education to maintain their national board certification status. 

The legislation being proposed by the Virgina State Physcial Therapy Board would endanger the public by allowing the practice of acupuncture without any of the education and safety requirements currrently required to practice acupuncture. This legislation should NOT be passed.

If physical therapists wish to practice acupuncture, then they should become properly educated and licsensed to do so.