Physical Therapy Board hears national and VA briefings on dry needling as acupuncturists press safety and scope concerns

Leslie Adrian, director of professional standards at the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, told the Physical Therapy Board of California on March 19 that "dry needling is an established treatment," and reviewed national regulatory, competency and safety data as the board considered next steps on the practice.

The presentations — one from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) and a separate briefing by clinicians from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — described dry needling as an intervention used for neuromusculoskeletal conditions, outlined a multi‑step competency review the federation has led, and said the VA has implemented standardized training and a national program for VA clinicians. At the meeting, representatives of California acupuncture organizations and the California Acupuncture Board urged caution, saying any practice that punctures the skin should be treated as acupuncture under state law.

Why it matters: the board regulates physical therapists and their scope under the Physical Therapy Practice Act, and any change in policy or rulemaking on dry needling could affect licensing, education expectations and consumer access to a treatment that presenters said is now widely used outside California.

FSBPT findings and framing

"Dry needling is an established treatment," Adrian said, describing the FSBPT's multi‑year competency work and a 2024 update that mapped dry‑needling work activities and knowledge requirements to the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) content outline. Adrian said the FSBPT and external contractors identified numerous "work activities" and "knowledge and skills requirements" linked to dry needling and concluded that most — about 88 percent — are part of entry‑level PT education, while roughly 12 percent of competencies are dry‑needling specific and would require post‑graduate or specialized training.

Adrian reviewed the patchwork of state regulation nationwide: "If you look at the ... state of dry…