Regulator bans B.C. massage therapist from possessing needles, piercing clients’ skin

A massage table is seen in this file photo. (Shutterstock.com)

A massage therapist practising in Qualicum Beach, B.C., has been banned from bringing needles into any place where she practises while a provincial regulator investigates her for alleged misconduct.

Elle Bryson is subject to a "summary protection order" imposed by the College of Complementary Health Professionals of B.C. earlier this week.

The order will remain in effect while the college completes its investigation of her.

According to a summary of the reasons for the order appended to her page in the college’s registry, Bryson was the subject of a complaint the college received on March 24 of this year.

The complaint “included the allegation that the respondent performed unauthorized needling on patients, exceeding her scope of practice as a massage therapist,” the summary reads.

The allegation has not been proven, but the college determined that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent’s continued, unrestricted practice poses a significant risk of harm to the public.”

“The (investigation committee) panel found that the alleged needling techniques involve piercing the skin and treating tissue below the dermis, which is outside the respondent’s regulated scope of practice,” the summary reads.

“Such procedures carry potentially serious medical risks if performed without adequate training, authorization, and sterile technique. To safeguard patients during the investigation, the panel imposed interim restrictions targeting needling practices.”

Those restrictions include a prohibition on bringing “hypodermic needles, acupuncture needles, dry needles, Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) needles, lancets, or any other tools or devices designed to puncture or break the skin” into any clinic or other place where she works as a massage therapist.

Bryson is also banned from performing any procedure that “involves the breaking, piercing, or puncturing of the skin, or any procedure on tissue below the dermis,” and she must post notices about these conditions in “prominent” positions on all online booking pages where her services can be booked, as well as in all clinic waiting rooms and treatment rooms where she works.

The college has also ordered Bryson to provide names and contact information for each patient she treats each week, and she will be subject to “random on-site audits of her practice” to ensure her compliance with the college’s orders.