Licensed Physical Therapists Assistants (L/PTA) are duly licensed health clinitians who assist in the practice of physical therapy under the direction of a duly licensed physical therapist. Right now, the Board of Allied Health is vague in what L/PTAs can do and what specific trainings we are allowed to take. Dry Needling Certification Courses will not allow L/PTAs in MA to apply for, or even attend, their Dry Needling Certification Courses unless the Board of Allied Health in MA makes a statement that dictates that the training and practice requirements for L/PTAs would allow performance of dry needling by the PTA as supervised by the PT.  

 Since 2019 when the Board of Allied Health declared that Athletic Trainers were capable of performing dry needling in MA, L/PTAs have been losing out on job opportunities to Athletic Trainers. Kansas, Texas and Illinois are three states that have already made public statements that L/PTAs are capable of taking the Dry Needling Certification course and thus become certified to perform dry needling, and MA should follow suit. We demand that the Board of Allied Health issue a statement immediately stating that L/PTAs are allowed to take the dry needling courses offered so that we may perform dry needling under the supervision of a PT. We demand that the Board of Allied Health clearly state that L/PTAs in MA are just as skilled and knowledgeable as L/PTAs in Texas, Kansas and Illinois and that dry needling is well within out scope of practice. We deserve the same job opportunities as our Athletic Trainer colleagues!