HB457: HB457 Occupational therapists; perform dry needling as a physical agent modality if certain training and education requirements are met; authorize

Under current Georgia law, occupational therapists are licensed to use physical agent modalities like heat, water, and electrical treatments, but dry needling is not addressed. This bill amends Georgia's occupational therapy law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 28 of Title 43) to add dry needling as an approved physical agent modality and spells out exactly what training a therapist must complete before performing it. To perform dry needling, a therapist would need at least three years of clinical experience (unless the licensing board accepts less based on completed coursework), documented coursework in anatomy and pain science, and specific hours of postgraduate, largely in-person training: 28 hours including 22 in-person hours for upper extremities, plus 40 more in-person hours for lower extremities. Patients would have to sign a written informed consent form describing the risks, benefits, and the therapist's training before treatment. The state licensing board would write further rules governing the practice.

• Adds a legal definition of 'dry needling' to Georgia's occupational therapy law and lists it as an approved physical agent modality (O.C.G.A. § 43-28-3).
• Requires occupational therapists to complete specific training, including at least 28 hours of postgraduate instruction for upper extremity dry needling, before performing it.
• Requires an additional 40 hours of in-person training before a therapist can perform dry needling on a patient's lower extremities.
• Requires at least three years of clinical experience as a licensed occupational therapist, though the state board can waive this if the therapist completed dry needling coursework during their degree program.
• Bans online instruction for dry needling training, except for remote or self-study components that are part of required postgraduate coursework.
• Requires therapists to get a patient's signed informed consent, describing risks, benefits, and the therapist's training, before performing dry needling.

Licensed occupational therapists in Georgia who want to add dry needling to their practice, the patients they treat for pain and movement problems, and the state occupational therapy licensing board, which must approve training courses and write new rules.

Patients seeking treatment for muscle, nerve, or pain-related conditions could gain access to dry needling from occupational therapists, not just other providers who currently offer it. Therapists would face detailed new training and experience requirements, and patients would receive a written disclosure of risks before treatment begins.

• Section 1 defines 'dry needling' as a technique using a thin filiform needle to stimulate tissue for pain and movement conditions, and clarifies it is not acupuncture.
• Section 1 adds dry needling to the list of physical agent modalities occupational therapists may use under O.C.G.A. § 43-28-3.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 43-28-8 to require certification in physical agent modalities and at least three years of clinical experience before a therapist can perform dry needling, with a board-approved exception for less experience.
• Section 2 requires documented coursework covering musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems, pain mechanisms, trigger point theory, and universal precautions, plus postgraduate instruction on safety, contraindications, and managing adverse effects.
• Section 2 sets minimum training hours: 28 hours (22 in-person) for upper extremity dry needling, and 40 additional in-person hours for lower extremities.
• Section 2 bars online instruction from counting as appropriate training, except for remote or self-study tied to required postgraduate coursework.
• Section 2 requires signed, written informed consent from the patient before dry needling, kept in the patient's medical record.
• Section 2 directs the licensing board to issue rules and regulations governing use of physical agent modalities, including dry needling.

1. 2025-02-19House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-13House Hopper (House)

• Mitchell Horner (R, HD-003)Primary sponsor
• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Jordan Ridley (R, HD-022)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)

• occupational therapy
• dry needling
• medical licensing
• healthcare regulation