The most recent meeting (August 20th 2026) of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners resulted in two significant developments that Texas chiropractors should be aware of.
First, the Board unanimously approved a rule allowing licensees to receive continuing education credit for attending TBCE meetings.
The CST applauds this change.
As you know, we at the CST believe strongly in transparency in government and active political advocacy. While dangling the carrot of CE hours should not be necessary to encourage any well-intentioned chiropractor to attend a Board meeting, these meetings are informative, educational, and, in our opinion, worthy of CE credit.
Anything that encourages greater participation and engagement by Texas chiropractors in the work of their regulatory Board is a positive development. Chiropractors should know what their Board is doing, understand the issues being considered, and participate in the process.
The second matter discussed at the meeting, however, carries far greater implications for the future of chiropractic practice in Texas.
The Board discussed the future development of a rule that would allow chiropractors to perform needle EMG.
The discussion follows the recent request for an Attorney General opinion regarding the use of EMG needles. The resulting Opinion KP-0523 opened the door to a broader discussion about whether needle EMG should become part of the chiropractic scope of practice in Texas.
That development deserves careful consideration.
The question is not simply whether chiropractors can be trained to perform needle EMG. Nor is the question simply whether needle EMG can provide useful information for certain patients.
The larger question is whether adding another procedure to the chiropractic scope is necessarily in the best interest of the profession.
That is a conversation Texas chiropractors should have before a rule is written—not after.
Scope expansion is often presented as an obvious benefit to the profession. More procedures mean more services. More services mean more opportunities. And more opportunities, it is assumed, mean a stronger profession.
But is that actually true?
Does a larger scope necessarily make chiropractic stronger?
The CST believes that question deserves a much more serious examination.
