Press Release
February 24, 2016 Contact: John Moore
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (206) 856-9737
California Court Issues Temporary Injunction Stopping Companies from “Dry Needling” in California and Enjoining
Sales of “Myotech Dry Needles”
Orange County, CA - Late last week, the Orange County Superior Court granted a
temporary restraining order against several out-of-state companies and
their
owners after plans surfaced that they intended to insert acupuncture
needles and distribute acupuncture needle samples at a physical therapy
conference in Anaheim, California. The Defendants lacked state
licensure as acupuncturists or medical doctors and
were not registered under California’s Pharmacy Law. Kinetacore, a main
Defendant in the case, engages in training workshops marketed primarily
to physical therapists for what they refer to as “dry needling.” US
Dry Needling, another main Defendant in the
case, sells acupuncture needles under the brand name “Myotech Dry
Needles,” while failing to identify the needles as acupuncture needles.
Dry needling is highly controversial since it involves the insertion of
FDA-regulated acupuncture needles through the
skin and into acupuncture points, which are located in muscles or
connective tissue, for therapeutic purposes by physical therapists or
chiropractors who can have as little as a weekend of training in
acupuncture.
Those practicing
“dry needling” claim that they are not practicing “acupuncture” and,
therefore, are not required to comply with the strict state safety,
training, and licensing requirements that apply to
the practice of acupuncture. California acupuncturists, for example,
are required to have at least 3,000 hours of formal training in
acupuncture, whereas Kinetacore’s weekend “certification” workshop in
“dry needling” is just 27 hours. There have been a
number of high-profile injuries in recent years where physical
therapists or chiropractors have punctured the lungs of their patients
upon incorrectly inserting acupuncture needles. Courts in Washington
and Oregon have permanently enjoined physical therapists
and chiropractors, respectively, from practicing “dry needling” by
finding it was outside their legal scopes of practice.
“The insertion of
acupuncture needles by physical therapists or other persons who have
little or no training in the safe and effective use of acupuncture
needles constitutes a significant threat to public
safety,” says Dr. Amy Matecki, who
is
the medical director for the International Center for Integrative
Medicine, which filed the lawsuit last week. “Physical therapists are
not trained in the safe use of acupuncture needles and are not legally
authorized
to use acupuncture needles in the State of California.”
The lawsuit was
filed by the International Center for Integrative Medicine in Oakland,
California, and alleges that plans by Kinetacore’s owner, Edo Zylstra,
to insert acupuncture needles as a part of a dry
needling demonstration violates California’s Acupuncture Licensure Act
and Medical Practice Act. The case challenges plans by US Dry Needling
and its owners, Paul Killoren, Austin Woods, and Edo Zylstra, to
distribute samples and accept on-line sales of the
“Myotech Dry Needle,” which is an acupuncture needle. The lawsuit also
alleges that distribution of such needles constitutes a violation of
California’s Pharmacy Law.
A copy of the injunction can be found
here (http://docdro.id/Kuk6GiY). And a copy of the argument in support of the injunction can be
found here (http://docdro.id/kaizQ5P).
The temporary
restraining order will stay in effect until mid-March, when the court
will consider issuing a preliminary injunction that would continue the
injunctive relief until the case can be decided on.
