Dry needling in physical therapy is increasing, yet the intervention is included in the PT scope of practice in some states but not others.

Jul 18, 2025/Resource

This map displays the states that specifically allow dry needling by PTs, states that prohibit the intervention by PTs, and states in which a clear opinion has not surfaced.

Mar 1, 2021/Column

Understand your professional, legal, and personal scopes of practice.

Jul 10, 2015/Report

In 2015, FSBPT set out to define what PTs must know and be able to do to perform dry needling safely and effectively. This study reveals the answers.

Oct 7, 2019/Podcast

Joseph Donnelly, PT, DHS , discusses what you need to know about dry needling, trigger points, and myofascial pain syndrome and how physical therapy can work in these areas.

May 1, 2015/Feature

Dry needling by physical therapists is a hot topic. What's fact? What's fiction? Take a look beneath the surface.

Aug 1, 2018/Website

This webpage from APTA's consumer-focused ChoosePT.com website provides an overview of the intervention, related equipment used, and the PT's role.

Mar 12, 2019/News

After a nearly 4-year battle, physical therapists (PTs) in North Carolina can finally claim victory in their fight to protect dry needling: last week, the state's acupuncture licensing board relented on its attempt to restrict the intervention, signing off on a settlement agreement in federal district

Mar 6, 2020/News

TRICARE calls TENS "no more effective than placebo" and labels dry needling for LBP "unproven."

Feb 2, 2022/Article

CMS still isn't paying for dry needling, but it has provided some guidance on how to successfully bill a beneficiary for the service.