Dry Needling » Physiotherapists

ASAP Information and Membership Application Form

andrew — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:12:14 +0000

Physiotherapists who wish to obtain a copy of the Guidelines for the Practice of Acupuncture and Dry Needling may do so by joining ASAP. The membership form can be downloaded via the link below.
It is recommended that physiotherapists practicing any form of needling in Australia be a member of either the APA Acupuncture Study Group or ASAP in order to remain current with developments regarding needling by physiotherapists in Australia.
ASAP application

Guidelines for Safe Acupuncture and Dry Needling Practice now available

andrew — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 04:35:48 +0000

The long awaited document has now been finalised and is now available.
Physiotherapists who have done Dry Needling Plus courses can obtain a copy by emailing us and providing your name and the course name, date and location you attended.
Physiotherapists who have done other needling training can obtain a copy by becoming a member of ASAP (Australian Society of Acupuncture Physiotherapists).
For more details about obtaining your copy of the guidelines contact Virginia Rusco (vruscoe@tsn.cc).
It is not necessary to be a member of the APA to join ASAP.
It is recommended that all physiotherapists practicing dry needling or acupucture be a member of either ASAP or the APA Acupuncture Study Group.

Updated information regarding dry needling training requirements for Australian physiotherapists

andrew — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 05:55:43 +0000

In late 2006 a final draft of The “Guidelines for Safe Acupuncture Practice” document was produced . It was to be available to physiotherapists via the APA Acupuncture Study Group early in 2007. The process of approving these guidelines by the APA has gone to yet another level and it is currently uncertain as to when a document or one serving a similar purpose will be available to physiotherapists.
The minimum training requirements in the final draft of the guidelines was 2 days for dry needling and 8 days for traditional acupuncture.

Can I go straight to dry needling plus level 2?

andrew — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:42:26 +0000

We have recently fielded several queries from people who have some informal needling experience who would like to know if they can go straight to level 2.

In short-The needle insertion technique your mate showed you in the clinic after work one time that he finds is great for piriformis releases is unlikely to be considered by insurers, registration boards or the APA to constitute minimum training for safe dry needling practice.

Until recently there has been no standardisation of dry needling training for physiotherapists wishing to practice in Australia . For this reason the “soon to be released” APA Guidelines for Safe Acupuncture practice document has been created. The Guidelines recommend a minimum of 2 days training for safe practice. Basic level training typically covers the following areas in addition to basic needling skills :

• Contraindications and precautions
• Management of needle accidents and adverse reactions
• Hygiene requirements
• Safe needling of vulnerable regions of the thorax
This is the minimum training for safe practice not expert practice and advanced level courses are aimed at achieving some level of expertise.

If your previous training has not covered the above areas over a 1-2 day period you would be best to start with Level 1.

Level 2 does not address these areas at all and assumes that this training has been previously done.

Please spread this amongst any co-workers you know may be interested or who are practising needling with less than a minimum standard of training.