Massachusetts
As we reported in the July Legislative News update, in Massachusetts House Bill 2415 was introduced, which stipulates dramatic requirements impacting healthcare providers, including physical therapists, who use dry needling as part of their treatment approach. To date, there are no further developments regarding this bill, but be assured that we will keep track of any updates regarding this bill.
Oregon
On August 7, 2025, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 3824 into law. The bill updates the standards for physical therapy in Oregon. Section 5 of the bill permits physical therapists to perform dry needling, including the establishment of training requirements to ensure a physical therapist can competently perform dry needling. The Governor directed the Oregon Board of Physical Therapy to actively consult with the Oregon Medical Board when adopting rules to ensure that the practice of dry needling has limited application to the practice of musculoskeletal pain and movement resolution and that an appropriate training standard is adopted, as outlined in a letter to the the Honorable Tobias Read, Secretary of the State or Oregon.
According to a local source, the Oregon licensing board director suggested that the rulemaking process to finalize requirements and implement all the parts of this bill may not be completed until July, 2027. During the next two years, Oregon physical therapists may attend dry needling courses. Still, they will not be able to use dry needling in the clinic and treat patients with dry needling until the rulemaking process has been completed.
APTA News
We don’t usually include legislative developments not directly related to dry needling, but in 2025, there have been many important legislative successes benefitting physical therapy throughout the USA, including elevating the role of PTs in primary care, improving payment under Medicaid and workers’ compensation, expanding direct access, and reforming PTA supervision laws. We refer to the report by the APTA for more details.
