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Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law Thursday a measure allowing physical therapists to practice dry needling.
Kotek said previously she was considering vetoing the legislation. Acupuncturist groups had argued it would allow physical therapists, with insufficient training, to perform a primitive form of acupuncture by another name, endangering patients while tarnishing and discriminating against the acupuncture profession in which practitioners must complete intensive study before receiving a license.
For their part, PTs argued that dry needling—in which needles are temporarily inserted into the body to manage pain and promote movement—was a useful and safe tool, which their colleagues in most other U.S. states were already permitted to deploy.
In a letter stating her rationale, Kotek said the measure gave the Oregon Board of Physical Therapy a greater ability to encourage competence and adherence to license requirements. But most of the document was dedicated to the dry needling debate, which drew hundreds of public comments.
“Interest in this section is outsized compared to the legislative direction provided,” Kotek wrote, adding that she had directed the state Physical Therapy Board to ensure the practice of dry needling “is limited to the practice of musculoskeletal pain and movement resolution and that an appropriate training standard is adopted.”
The governor said she was also directing the board to ensure the rule-making process had appropriate stakeholder involvement.
