Fallon Deatherage

News Editor

With the end of the Idaho State Legislative session, the passage of one bill could bring changes and new opportunities to the physical therapy department at ISU.

House Bill 505 allows physical therapists to practice dry needling in Idaho, a practice already recognized in 34 other states.

“In the past our curriculum has only touched on it,” said Dr. Derek Gerber, an ISU professor. “Now we will be spending a bit more time covering it.”

Dry needling is the practice of inserting needles into myofascial trigger points within muscles that cause pain. The needles do not disseminate any medicine or saline. By inserting needles into the trigger points, a muscle reflex is triggered which can begin to relieve pain in localized areas.

The passage of the bill didn’t come without obstacles. It was opposed by many acupuncture practitioners who believed that allowing dry needling by physical therapists would hurt them. Dr. Gerber travelled to testify about the differences between dry needling and acupuncture.

Acupuncture differs in that it uses reflexology, the practice of addressing certain points of the body to relieve pain. Unlike dry needling, acupuncture does not have to be localized to the pain in order to be effective. The techniques were developed in China and have been a traditional treatment method.

“It really comes down to whether you’re using a western or an eastern school of thought,” Dr. Gerber said. “But the differences are there.”

Dr. Gerber’s testimony was persuasive. The House passed the bill 63-4, while the Senate approved the bill 33-2. Governor Butch Otter signed the bill March 22 and after July 1 Idaho will join states like Arizona, Georgia, and Utah in allowing physical therapists to use dry needling to treat pain.

The passage of the bill has been met with excitement in ISU’s physical therapy department.

“It will greatly expand practice options for me,” said Jesse Sampogna, a physical therapy doctoral student. “And clients won’t have to go out of state to receive treatment.”

The bill may make it possible for Idaho to gain and retain physical therapists.

“If some of them wanted to use the technique in the past, they have had to go to other states,” Dr. Gerber said. “We’ve been losing possible students and therapists and people might not move to Idaho because they can’t do it here.”

Even with the passage of the bill allowing dry needling in the state, ISU physical therapy students will not be able to receive accreditations to practice the technique right away because the department does not currently have a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) approved curriculum for dry needling.

“We can’t certify at this point,” Dr. Gerber said. “The way the bill is written it could be a possibility in the future.”

Gerber said that the new bill was written broadly in order to be passed making dry needling legal, but in order for the dry needling to become a reality in Idaho, more laws will have to be passed to regulate the practice.

“People can’t really go and do it now because there are no regulations,” Dr. Gerber said. “This was the first step in a series of steps.”