Applied Kinesiology

Applied Kinesiology (AK) uses manual muscle testing as a means to diagnose the health condition of an individual. This method incorporates every aspect of a person's body. The entire Triad of Health is assessed - the structural, bio-chemical and the mental emotional status of the body.  With such in-depth examination, the causes of the health imbalances can be discovered and treated.

"The Triad of Health is interactive and all sides must be evaluated for the underlying cause of a problem.  A health problem on one side of the triad can affect the other sides.  For example, a chemical imbalance can cause mental symptoms.  AK enables the doctor to evaluate the triad's balance and direct therapy toward the imbalanced side or sides."  (http://www.icak.com/about/whatis.shtml)  

Dr. Gertler, an Oakland Chiropractic Kinesiologist,  has been a member of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) for over 30 years and has advanced training in the field.  For more information on Dr. Gertler's vast achievements, please read these articles:  Dr. Gertler's Biography.

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The Center for Holistic Health in Oakland thanks Dr. Palanisamy for allowing us to include the following article.  It is posted on www.drgertler.org with his permission.  Dr. Palanisamy's biography can be viewed here: http://www.osher.ucsf.edu/bios/palanisamy.html

APPLIED KINESIOLOGY
by Akilesh Palanisamy, M.D.

Applied kinesiology (AK) is a multidisciplinary system of healing which integrates elements of several alternative therapies. It employs manual muscle testing to analyze how a person is functioning on structural, nutritional, and emotional levels. “Kinesiology” is defined as the study of movement and function; AK uses muscle kinesiology as a basis for diagnosis and treatment (1).

AK is intended to enhance, not replace, standard methods of diagnosis (2). AK practitioners can individualize therapy by asking precise questions and receiving clear answers directly from the patient’s body. Treatments may incorporate elements of chiropractic, traditional Chinese medicine, nutritional therapies, myofascial techniques, and many procedures unique to AK (2).

AK was founded in 1964 by George Goodheart, Jr., a chiropractor from Michigan (2). Goodheart observed that postural distortion was often associated with posture related muscles that tested weak despite lack of muscle or nerve pathology. He found that tender nodules were frequently palpable at the endpoints of specific muscle. When these areas were palpated forcefully, the muscle no longer tested weak, and the individual’s posture improved. The discovery of this “origin/insertion technique” marked the beginning of George Goodheart’s formulation of a science he named applied kinesiology (1).

Goodheart was an avid researcher who regularly read medical, osteopathic, chiropractic, and Chinese medicine literature (3). He began to synthesize finding from various disciplines with his own clinical observations of muscle testing. His first discovery was that each major muscle is associated with a specific organ or gland, and weakness of a certain muscle could signal dysfunction in its correlated organ. Using manual muscle testing as a foundation and touchstone, he developed AK by combining advances in complementary medicine research with mainstream Western understanding of neurology and physiology. Thus, from its inception, AK was “integrative” in nature.

In subsequent years, Goodheart shared his discoveries with others through seminars and lectures (3). In 1976, Goodheart and others founded the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) to promote AK education and research. Over the years, AK developed into a practical, unified system to orchestrate the application of diverse complementary and integrative therapies in an optimal manner of each individual patient (4).

AK understands health trough a holistic triad of structural (physical), chemical (nutritional), and emotional (psychological) factors. These three realms are closely related, and abnormalities originating in one area can disrupt any of the others. For example, a nutritional imbalance can cause muscle weakness that leads to structural nerve interference and chronic back pain. (1). Therefore, AK treatment commonly addresses multiple aspects of health when treating a particular condition.

Manual muscle testing is the cornerstone of AK. This technique is not a measure of the absolute strength of a muscle. Rather, the practitioner determines whether the patient’s muscle is able to resist an applied force and “lock’ against it” (5). A muscle that is able to meet this challenge is termed “strong”, and a muscle that cannot is labeled “weak”. Accurate muscle testing requires significant training and experience. Three research studies have correlated muscle testing results with objective neurologic measures of electrical activity in nerves and muscles (4).

AK diagnosis is based on differentiating strong and weak muscles, and understanding the implications and meaning of each muscle test. Specific factors that can weaken previously strong muscles included structural misalignment, organ dysfunction, nutritional deficiency, lymphatic or vascular impairment, imbalance in the acupuncture meridian system, and stressful cognitive or emotional states (2). Therefore, manual muscle testing assists an AK practitioner in developing a comprehensive picture of balance or imbalance on many different levels in each individual.

The purpose of treatment is to address the underlying imbalance and any related disruptions. Treatment may include joint manipulation, myofascial therapies, acupressure, herbs and dietary supplements, diet and lifestyle modification, emotional therapies, and various reflex procedures (2).

Manual muscle testing has remarkable applications relating to truth and falsehood. It was discovered that if a person makes a true statement about themselves, their muscles will test strong; if they make a false statement, the same muscles will weaken (3). The statement can be about any aspect of the individual’s life. One well-designed research study examined manual muscle testing of 89 subjects after they made verifiably true and false statements (e.g. “My name is_____”) (5). When subjects repeated true statements, their anterior deltoid muscles could sustain 20 percent more total force over a 59 percent longer time period, compared to when they made false statements, consistent with strong and weak muscle tests.

Some in AK explain this phenomenon by postulating that the body has an “innate intelligence” which has the capacity to differentiate between true and false (6). It is possible to access this intelligence through manual muscle testing, to listen to what the subconscious, inherent wisdom of the body's seeks to communicate to us. One can work with the patient to check clinically relevant statements such as “I am eating the correct diet”, “I am doing optimal exercise”, etc.

Another major use of muscle testing is to assess nutritional needs. Carolyn Mein, DC, has developed a system of 25 body types, based on muscle testing research of different foods on hundreds of subjects (7). Each body type requires a different diet; for example, some body types can be healthy. AK can also be used to guide prescriptions of herbs, supplements, or nutritional substances. The AK practitioner can directly ask the individual's body whether it requires the substance. The protocol for testing a substance is place it in the patient's mouth, on his or her tongue, so that the material is tasted; AK practitioners have discovered that the body recognizes and reacts instantly to materials presented in this way, through alterations in strength or weakness of specific muscles. (1). Even before the patient swallows the substance, changes in muscle strength can be identified and interpreted to determine the likely safety and effectiveness of the medicine.

It is believed that the “innate intelligence” within the body instantly recognizes and responds to nutritional substances, leading to changes in muscle strength which indicate if the body requires the supplement (6). Thus, the same innate intelligence which seems able to differentiate truth and falsehood can also distinguish between beneficial and harmful nutritional substances.

The possibilities of AK in the realm of emotions became apparent when George Goodheart found that a patient's thought about a stressful or anxiety provoking topic led to the weakening of a previously strong muscle (3). John Diamond, MD, was the first psychiatrist to study with Goodheart. Diamond developed “Behavioral Kinesiology” and pioneered AK-based emotional therapies, using muscle testing to research the effects of psychological stimuli such as art, music, voice modulations, and emotional stress (1).

The emotional realm of AK draws upon the understanding of emotions in Chinese medicine, which states that certain emotions are associated with energy meridians linked to specific organs (e.g., fear-kidney, grief-lungs) (3). AK theorizes that unresolved or suppressed emotions are stored within the energy meridian of the organ that they are normally associated with (6). This leads to an energy blockage within that specific meridian that prevents the normal flow of energy and may have negative consequences in the body.

The purpose of treatment is to help express and release these emotions stored within the body before they cause further emotional or physical harm. Many different emotional therapies are practiced. James Durlacher, DC, developed a procedure using muscle testing to treat phobias, addictions, anxiety, and other emotional imbalances, and has had positive clinical results (3).

AK is a holistic, comprehensive system of healing that enables practitioners to orchestrate the individualized application of diverse complementary healing tools using manual assessment of muscular function (4). It relies on the “innate intelligence” in each individual which can distinguish between truth and falsehood, as well as beneficial and harmful stimuli. Integrated and eclectic by nature, AK is a powerful method that promises to play a significant role in the modern movement towards integrative clinical practice.

Today, the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) has chapters in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. AK is a rapidly growing field, gaining public and professional recognition, with innovations and new discoveries sustaining its progress. Although a growing body of research supports AK, many fertile areas of inquiry await exploration in the years ahead.

References:

1. Valentine, Tom and Carol. Applied kinesiology. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1987

2. ICAK. Applied Kinesiology status statement. Shawnee Mission, KS: ICAK-USA, 1992

3. Durlacher, James. Freedom from fear forever. Mesa, AZ: Van Ness publishing, 1994

4. Motyka TM, Yanuck SF (1999) Expanding the neurological examination using functional neurologic assessment part I: methodological consideration. Intern J Neuroscience, 97: 61-76

5. Monti DA et al. (1999) Muscle test comparisons of congruent and incongruent self-referential statements. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88: 1019-1028

6. Personal conversations with Larry Gertler, DC, February 2001

7. Mein, Carolyn. Different bodies, different diets. San Diego, CA: Vision Ware Press, 1998