In 2013, several individuals were rather upset about the growing interest of many physical therapists in dry needling. The American
Physical Therapy Association had just published two Dry Needling Education Resources and expressed that dry needling should be included at every Combined Section Meeting in the future. The interest in dry needling is still growing with new applications, such as dry needling to reduce spasticity and dry needling to treat painful and motion-restricting scars, among others.
In that same year, about 15 new continuing education companies started teaching their version of dry needling just in the US.
In 2025, almost all states in the US have approved dry needling by physical therapists, contrary to the dire predictions of some opponents of dry needling who were sure that “this dry needling thing is such a big mistake, but the ship has sailed. Maybe I can get a needler to jab a couple of those things in my eyes – I can’t stand to watch. I predict that the PT profession’s embrace of dry needling will go down as the biggest mistake we’ve ever made – and we’ve made some whoppers.”
There are still a few where dry needling by physical therapists is considered outside the scope of PT, such as California, Hawaii, Oregon, and New York. In a few other states, PT Boards are either not allowed to render an opinion or have opted to remain silent, such as Michigan, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
And this is where we need your help. Since the first beginnings of dry needling in the US, Jan Dommerholt has maintained an overview of the legal status of dry needling in every state. You may know that Myopain Seminars has even developed a resource guide summarizing the”Physical Therapy Dry Needling Rulings in the USA.” On the one hand, not many rules and laws on dry needling are changing, but every now and then, we become aware of specific changes in a particular state.
As an enthusiastic reader of the Myopain Seminars monthly newsletter, please visit our online resource guide, click on your state, and verify that the information is still accurate. If you see any discrepancies, please get in touch with Jan Dommerholt; after verification, we will update the guide.
If you are an occupational therapist, we invite you to review our blog “Occupational Therapy and Dry Needling – The October 2024 Update”.
Same deal: If you see any discrepancies, please get in touch with Jan Dommerholt; after verification, we will update the blog. Together, we can contribute to the resource guides on our website.
