Idaho joins more than 40 other states in allowing patients access to dry needling provided by Physical Therapists.
On March 22, 2018, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed legislation permitting physical therapists (PTs) in the state to perform dry needling. This legislation updates Idaho’s physical therapy practice act to include dry needling within the PT scope of practice, if the PT has completed minimum education and training standards to be determined by the Idaho Physical Therapy Licensure Board. The licensure board is expected to announce their final decisions and fully implement dry needling in March 2019.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry Needling is a very effective form of manual therapy that uses very thin needles inserted in your muscle tissue. Dry needling is used to treat pain and dysfunction caused by trigger point muscle problems, nerve problems, headaches, and chronic pain. Dry needling is NOT Traditional Chinese Acupuncture as it does not treat traditional Chinese energy lines. Dry needling is a modern, science-based intervention and requires a medical diagnosis to treat pain and dysfunction in musculoskeletal conditions.
In other words, Dry Needling is used to stimulate neural, muscular and connective tissues for the management of musculoskeletal conditions, pain, and movement-related impairments. Dry needling changes the way your body “perceives” pain by helping your body heal itself through releasing tight muscle tissues (trigger points). Dry needling also stimulates additional electrical and chemical effects in your body which assist the healing process of your muscles. It is important to stay active and keep up with a Home Exercise Program following dry needling to maintain good flexibility in your muscles and assist the healing process. Dry needling procedures may need to be performed for several sessions to reduce your pain.
Your physical therapist should be appropriately trained and certified in providing dry needling techniques, and will display the (Cert. DN.) credentials to indicate this level of training. The therapists will choose the appropriate size and thickness needle for treating your condition based on your body size and muscle tissue thickness. While Dry Needling is an effective treatment for musculoskeletal pain, it does pose potential side-effects. While these side-effects are normal and/or rare in occurrence, they must be considered prior to giving consent to treatment.
Garrett Fischer, DPT of Kauai Therapy & Wellness (Ponderay Location) currently holds certifications in dry needling (Cert. DN.) from the Dry Needling Institute.
Want to learn more? Click on the Links Below!
Dry needling by physical therapists is a hot topic. What’s fact? What’s fiction? Take a look beneath the surface. By Eric Ries | May 2015
Article Link
“Dry needling is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. [It] is a technique used to treat dysfunctions in skeletal muscle, fascia, and connective tissue, and to diminish persistent peripheral nociceptive input, and reduce or restore impairments in body structure and function, leading to improved activity and participation.” Source: APTA document Description of Dry Needling in Clinical Practice: An Educational Resource Paper.
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By Garrett Fischer DPT, Cert. DN
*Disclaimer: Article Pertains to Location: Ponderay, Idaho only. This is not yet legal in the state of Hawaii & is not available at our Lihue-Kauai Location. https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2018/legislation/h0505/
