AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49 and Title 63, relative to athletic trainers.
SB0224 amends Tennessee law governing athletic trainers to expressly authorize them to use dry needling and certain physical modalities, such as heat, light, sound, cold, electricity, and mechanical devices, when treating athletic injuries. The bill also clarifies that athletic trainers may only practice within areas where they are competent based on training or experience, and it directs the Board of Athletic Trainers to set rules and minimum competency standards for dry needling.
The bill requires athletic trainers who want to perform dry needling to complete board-approved training and certification. It specifies minimum instruction requirements, including at least 50 hours covering musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems, pain mechanisms, trigger points, and universal precautions, plus at least 24 hours of dry-needling-specific instruction covering technique, indications and contraindications, documentation, adverse effects, psychomotor competency, and bloodborne pathogen protocols. The bill also states that dry needling by an athletic trainer is not considered acupuncture under Tennessee law.
This bill expands the scope of practice for licensed athletic trainers in Tennessee by adding dry needling to the list of permitted treatment methods and by authorizing the use of related therapeutic modalities. It amends Title 63, Chapter 24, and gives the Board of Athletic Trainers explicit rulemaking authority to establish competency requirements, approve training providers, and implement standards for dry needling. The act takes effect immediately for rulemaking purposes and on September 1, 2025, for all other purposes, affecting athletic trainers, their employers, and the regulatory board.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill, with the Senate Health and Welfare Committee recommending passage unanimously, 9-0. The bill’s enactment indicates it moved through the legislature without recorded opposition in the provided materials. Overall, the sentiment appears favorable, reflecting agreement that the practice should be permitted under defined training and oversight requirements.
The main policy issue is the expansion of athletic trainers’ authority to perform dry needling, which can raise questions about professional boundaries, patient safety, and overlap with other licensed professions such as acupuncture and physical therapy. The bill addresses those concerns by requiring board-approved training, minimum instructional hours, and a clear statement that dry needling by athletic trainers is not acupuncture. The Board of Athletic Trainers is given discretion to set and enforce the standards, which may be a point of interest for stakeholders concerned about regulatory rigor.