Louisiana Expands Scope - Adds Dry Needling to Scope of Practice

Despite the focus of conservative chiropractic organizations on fighting the addition of drugs into the practice of chiropractic, many states continue to quietly push forward with scope expansion efforts that do not involve drugs at all.  

Louisiana did so recently with a 10 page Attorney General Opinion Letter concluding:

“Dry needling, as defined and interpreted by the Louisiana Board of Chiropractic Examiners, is within the scope of chiropractic . . .”

But the letter from the Attorney General (JAMES D. “BUDDY” CALDWELL) did not go without controversy and he is being accused of a “pay for play” scam involving the Attorney General and Louisiana chiropractors.   

All told it appears that just prior to Caldwell rendering the Opinion about 100 chiropractors donated $100.00 to the Attorney General’s campaign.

According to reports, before January 30, 2015 Caldwell had no campaign contributions from chiropractors. The contributions started with a $100.00 check from Michael Cavanaugh, D.C. who is on the Louisiana Board of Chiropractic and a member of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). The ACA has been pushing heavily for scope expansion and recently released its “Ideal Practice Act Language”.

ACA State Delegate in Louisiana John Daigle DC was also a contributor. Cavanaugh and Daigle are also members of the Chiropractic Association of Louisiana which states on its website that it is a member of the American Chiropractic Association (Executive Director's membership) and a member of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations.  

Three weeks after Cavanaugh's donation the Louisiana Chiropractic Board asked for the Opinion on Dry Needling.

According to the Louisiana Chiropractic Board:

“Dry needling is based on Western neuroanatomy and modern scientific study of the musculockeletal and nervous system. It is used for the assessment and treatment of myofascial pain syndromes and dysfunction due to myofascial triggerpoints/tension areas, muscle spasm and increased tonicity. The decision to needle is based on identifying a clear clinical relationship between the myofascial trigger point and the patient’s pain experience."

While some chiropractic organizations put all of their focus on keeping drugs out of chiropractic the reality is that drugs are a Red Herring and that the real issue is the push for primary care status and the scope expansion that necessarily comes with it.