Dry Needling? Massage Therapists doing Acupuncture?
ILaaom is aware of the attempts at infringement upon our practice and is working with our lobbyist to devise the best response. ILaaom is one of the few state associations in the country to have a lobbyist, and that is a great asset. This is why we need you to be a member and support ILaaom. Join ILaaom today!
You can also send a letter to your legislators to make them aware of this issue. Click here for a sample letter. Please let us know when you contact your legislators by sending a copy of your letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Click here to find your legislators. Additional information on this topic is at the CSAP site.
Dry Needling
Dear Members of the AOM Community:
As you know, for almost 9 months your organizations have been making a colossal effort to present to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation the facts surrounding Dry Needling. Based on recent communications, we are even more certain that we have every legal reason to continue to insist that this practice is, by State definition, a form of acupuncture. Nonetheless, the Department is digging in its heels, and is refusing to consider this further. The leaders of the Illinois Acupuncture Federation met on Friday, January 28th. These currently include representatives from the Illinois Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ILaaom), the Asian American Acupuncture Association (AAAA), the Korean Acupuncture Association (KAAA), and the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM). We were unanimous in our conviction that to allow the practice of Dry Needling to continue as is, with no training requirements, no oversight, and via back-door administrative favoritism, presents both such a clear danger to the public and poses such a potentially devastating threat to the profession of Acupuncture, that this cannot be tolerated.
It was decided that it is a relatively small and worth- while investment again to fully engage the services of our outstanding lobbyist, Steve Morrill, who felt confi- dent that he could have our voices heard more clearly than they have been heard thus far. For this effort to be successful, we need to engage as a community, and continue to be ready to make calls, write letters, visit legislators, and financially invest in our profession. To this end, we would like to also announce the creation of our Legal Defense Fund. This fund will be maintained so that we, as a profession, have a solid base upon which to draw when threats such as this emerge, and also to aid in the ongoing and proactive development of the profession.
Chinese medicine has come a long way in Illinois: from felony to Main Street. We have a long way to go, however, before equitable treatment and a solid practice environment are fully achieved. If you had a shred of uncertainty about this previously, the current treatment of this profession by regulatory agencies and the efforts of other professionals to rename and co-opt our medicine should silence that doubt. It is critical that every member of this community both join their association, and be ready to fund and seek donors for the efforts that will emerge and demand our resources. We need to relinquish any lingering poverty mentality, and realize that we cannot afford NOT to support our organizations. Please think hard about whether you have further funds you can commit to these efforts, or if you have connections with donors who would like to enliven a noble profession. We are at a tenuous but exciting stage, and this is an amazing opportunity to help create a robust future.
Thank you for your past and future support.
David W. Miller, MD, LAc
Legislative Chair, ILaaom
President, Illinois Acupuncture Federation
