Bill description: HB 505 would allow physical therapists who have obtained the relevant education to perform dry needling on their patients.

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market? 


Dry needling is defined by the American Physical Therapy Association as “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.”

Dry needling is similar to and uses many techniques from acupuncture, however, the two are not the same. Acupuncture comes from extensive Eastern medicinal training, while dry needling is primarily rooted in Western medicinal training in physiology and anatomy. Idaho’s state Board of Acupuncture already regulates the practice of acupuncture, but there is not any provision that allows for dry needling in any profession.

HB 505 would allow physical therapists to engage in dry needling. Currently, more than half of the state licensing boards in the United States allow physical therapists to perform dry needling with their patients. HB 505 would allow physical therapists to use the full scope of their training and offer services that their clients request.

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