Dry Needling: Advanced

• Analyze most recent dry needling research and how this impacts clinical applications and practice trends
• Demonstrate safety and proficient skills with dry needling techniques of more advanced anatomical tissue targets, including peripheral nerves, tendons, scar tissue, and specific muscles
• Investigate the research-based therapeutic mechanisms for peripheral nerve stimulation, scar needling, tendon needling, and needling for acute contusions.
• Identify contraindications and precautions associated with advanced techniques including peripheral nerve stimulation, scar needling, tendon needling, and needling for acute contusions
• Identify relevant myofascial and neurovascular anatomy associated with proper and effective application of dry needling
• Discuss adverse events associated with ribcage dry needling techniques and incidence affiliated with these techniques
• Demonstrate strategic and effective execution of indwelling electrical stimulation circuits for the clinical management of nerve-related injuries, scar rehab, pain, and general orthopedic conditions

PREREQUISITES

• Dry Needling: Upper Body OR Dry Needling: Lower Body

EDUCATION LEVEL

• Entry-level

HOW DO I KNOW IF I'M ALLOWED TO DRY NEEDLE? WHAT REQUIREMENTS DOES MY STATE HAVE?

In the United States, only physical therapists (PT), medical doctors (MD), doctors of osteopathy (DO), and chiropractic physicians (DC) are allowed to perform dry needling. The ability for these providers to perform dry needling depends entirely on state. Please read the list below and reference the map to know if you are allowed to dry needle, and what your requirements may be. These are the requirements for physical therapists. If you are a provider from another profession, contact your state board or association to learn more. YOU ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW THE LEGALITIES SURROUNDING DRY NEEDLING IN YOUR STATE AS WELL AS THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO PERFORM DRY NEEDLING WITH PATIENTS. If you are unsure of your requirements or if you practice in multiple states, contact your state association or board to clarify requirements.

Alabama
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Alaska
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Arizona
24 hours of training required.

Arkansas
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Colorado
50 hours of training required (30 prior to using in-clinic). Only 10 hours can come from online sources.

Delaware
25 hours of training required if you were trained in dry needling before the beginning of dry needling regulation. If not, 54 hours are required. All hours must be completed within 2 years.

Florida
50 hours of training required.

Georgia
50 hours of training required.

Idaho
27 hours of training required.

Illinois
54 hours of training required within a 12-month window. 27 hours required prior to use in-clinic.

Indiana
50 hours of dry needling training required before being able to use dry needling in the clinic. 40 of the 50 hours must come from in-person training. Any training performed during entry-level training (PT school) counts if you're able to provide an itemization of training performed & hours completed.

Iowa
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Kansas 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Kentucky
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Louisiana
50 hours of training required.

Maine
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Maryland
80 hours of training required. All training must be in-person, face-to-face. As of January 2024, Maryland will no longer approve any continuing education for more than 30 hours, regardless of schedule. Maryland clinicians will unfortunately need to take at least 3 dry needling courses to meet the required hours needed to use dry needling in the clinic.

Mississippi
50 hours of training required.

Montana
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Nebraska
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Nevada
25 hours of training required.

New Hampshire
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

New Jersey
80 hours of training required. All hours must be in-person and completed within 2 years. You must also complete 40 hours of supervised dry needling with an individual who has been using dry needling for at least 5 years.

New Mexico
24 hours of training required.

North Carolina 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

North Dakota
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Ohio 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Oregon
Dry needling training required. Hourly requirements under legislative approval. Requirements expected to be announced April 2027

Rhode Island
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

South Carolina 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

South Dakota 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Tennessee 
50 hours of training required.

Texas
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Utah
54 hours of training required.

Vermont
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Virginia 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Washington D.C. 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Washington State
75 hours of training required. All hours must be in-person, face-to-face.

West Virginia 
Dry needling training required. No specific hourly requirement.

Wyoming 
27 hours of training required.

Connecticut/Massachusetts/Michigan/Minnesota/Missouri/Oklahoma/Pennsylvania/Wisconsin
These are "grey states." You do not need any dry needling training to perform dry needling in the clinic. You have no specific contact hour requirements.

California/Hawaii/New York
These are "red states." It is illegal for a physical therapist to perform dry needling in these states.

Please note: our dry needling courses require pre-course homework & exams prior to the beginning of the first day of class. Course emails are sent 4 weeks ahead of class to give you time to complete this work. For this reason, once you receive the course email with access to material, a refund is no longer possible. You may transfer to another dry needling course instead.