Applied Kinesiology: muscle testing for subtle diagnosis

New Life Journal, August-Sept, 2004 by Marilyn Johnson Kondwani

Your body does speak. Applied Kinesiology (AK) makes it possible to use your own body as the research tool to obtain optimal health. Applied Kinesiology, or manual muscle testing, is an objective diagnostic tool that translates the intimate and often overlooked connection between your mental/emotional status and the health of your nerves, muscles, and organs. AK was discovered quite by accident in 1964. Dr. George Goodheart, a Detroit, Michigan-based chiropractor, noticed that a massage to tender nodules along the shoulder blade relieved excessive tension and pain while restoring strength to the opposing muscles in a man who had suffered with long-term unresolved back pain. Not only did the pain subside, but the man's postural imbalance was restored, as well,

This breakthrough encouraged Dr. Goodheart to study the research of Dr. Chapman, an Osteopath who mapped out reflex points on a chart of the body that he thought might stimulate lymphatic flow. Lymph is a clear fluid that carries metabolic waste to be eliminated from the body.

With great attention to detail, Dr. Goodheart checked each of Dr. Chapman's reflex points by testing the response of various muscles. By noting which weak muscle became stronger when the appropriate point was activated with massage, Dr. Goodheart found that each muscle group was related to one or more of the reflex points. This explained the pain relief and correction in posture experienced by his patient.

Further investigation by other colleagues, most notably Dr. Bennett, a naturopath, also indicated that massaging the Chapman reflexes tended to increase blood and lymph flow to the muscles. Encouraged by their success, they decided to have patients chew specific nutrients to observe for strengthening or weakening of muscles. Various nutrients were found to weaken the muscles of some people while strengthening the muscles of others.

This research was the foundation for our current knowledge that each person has unique requirements for obtaining and maintaining health. It also substantiated that muscle testing could determine foods and other substances that may be weakening or strengthening to the body. Continued observation led to the important discovery of the connection between the electrical organ meridians used in Chinese acupuncture and the muscles. According to Chinese medicine, meridians are the pathways through which the life force flows. Muscles that share similar nerve pathways were strengthened by the same organ meridians, thus explaining the correlation of the nerve to organ connection and its important status as the link between the body and mind.

Not to be confused with kinesis or kinesiology, the Greek word meaning "movement," AK uses manual muscle testing to obtain a very accurate diagnosis of your current state of health. The magic of manual muscle testing lies in its ability to reveal the unique interplay between physical and emotional body functions and to locate the source of dysfunction that is unique to each individual. Most AK sessions begin with an observation of your posture, gait, and range of joint motion. In a brief session lasting usually about an hour, a competent Applied Kinesology practitioner will evaluate your body functions and provide you with a picture of how your glands, organs, lymphatic system, nervous system, circulation, muscle, and bone structure are working at the present time.

The session will probably also include examinations to see how well certain muscles hold their position under manual pressure. Manual muscle testing involves raising one of your arms to shoulder height while the AK practitioner applies a gentle push down pressure to the arm. The ability or inability to remain raised when pressure is applied by the AK practitioner determines the degree of strength or weakness upon that part of the body influenced by the muscle being tested. From this evaluation, a treatment plan will be suggested in the order of priority from the most important health concern to those that may not have yet manifested. AK muscle testing will be reviewed regularly to monitor your progress and determine adjustments to the heating process as needed.

Combined with a through history, physical examination, and appropriate laboratory testing, manual muscle testing can reveal the source of chronic symptoms that may have been overlooked during a more conventional medical evaluation. Applied Kinesiology helps remove the doubt and guesswork associated with subjective diagnosis by translating specific health information to your practitioner enabling them to better serve your health needs.

Following completion of the MD, ND (Doctor of Naturopathy), DO (Osteopathy), or Chiropractic course of study and often professional licensure, training as an AK practitioner requires hundred of hours of classroom study followed by clinical practice. Practitoners have refined their ability to "listen" with great attention and awareness to the response of the muscles being tested.

To keep your body at its most optimal performance level, strive to create harmony with the five functional realms of optimal health listed below: