| Applied
kinesiology (AK) is the term most commonly used to identify
a pseudoscientific system of muscle-testing and therapy. It
was initiated in 1964 by George J. Goodheart, Jr., D.C., and
has become quite elaborate. Its basic notion is that every
organ dysfunction is accompanied by a specific muscle weakness,
which enables diseases to be diagnosed through muscle-testing
procedures. Most practitioners are chiropractors, but naturopaths,
medical doctors, dentists, bogus nutritionists, physical therapists,
massage therapists, nurse practitioners, and multilevel distributors
(most notably for Nature's Sunshine) are also involved.
Applied kinesiology should be distinguished
from kinesiology (biomechanics), which is the scientific study
of movement." Unfortunately, some professionals and educators
refer to science-based kinesiology as "applied kinesiology,"
which increases the risk that people searching for information
will confuse the two.
AK proponents claim that nutritional deficiencies,
allergies, and other adverse reactions to foods or nutrients
can be detected by having the patient chew or suck on these
items or by placing them on the tongue so that the patient
salivates.
Some practitioners advise that the test material
merely be held in the patient's hand or placed on another
part of the body. A few even perform "surrogate testing"
in which the arm strength of a parent is tested to determine
problems in a child held by the parent. According to a 1987
book for the general public written with help from two leading
chiropractic AK practitioners:
The practicing AK is a graduate chiropractor
who can explain to you how your glands and organs appear to
be functioning with specific muscle tests. He can suggest
nutrition to help improve various conditions, and he can demonstrate
with your muscles that you probably need particular nutrients.
He can correct problems in your spine and
in joints, and can stretch or compress muscles to improve
your structural condition. He may massage certain junctures
of nerve, lymph, blood, and acupuncture meridians to stimulate
glandular or systemic activity. He can advise you on how to
stay healthy and he will pay particular attention to your
posture and your feet. He can offer an excellent second opinion
if you are under a physician's care, are seeing a chiropractor
who is not an applied kinesiologist, or if you have been in
an accident
Many muscle-testing proponents assert that
nutrients tested in these various ways will have an immediate
effect: "good" substances will make specific muscles
stronger, whereas "bad" substances will cause weaknesses
that "indicate trouble with the organ or other tissue
on the same nerve, vascular, nutrition, etc., grouping."
A leading AK text, for example, states:
If a patient is diagnosed as having a liver
disturbance and the associated pectoralis major [chest muscle]
tests weak, have the patient chew a substance that may help
the liver, such as vitamin A. If . . . the vitamin A is appropriate
treatment, the muscle will test strong
Finding a "weak" muscle supposedly
enables the practitioner to pinpoint illness in the corresponding
internal organs in the body. For example, a weak muscle in
the chest might indicate a liver problem, and a weak muscle
near the groin might indicate "adrenal insufficiency."
If a muscle tests "weaker" after a substance is
placed in the patient's mouth, it supposedly signifies disease
in the organ associated with that muscle. If the muscle tests
"stronger," the substance supposedly can remedy
problems in the corresponding body parts.
Testing is also claimed to indicate which
nutrients are deficient. If a weak muscle becomes stronger
after a nutrient (or a food high in the nutrient) is chewed,
that supposedly indicates "a deficiency normally associated
with that muscle." Some practitioners contend that muscle-testing
can also help diagnose allergies and other adverse reactions
to foods. According to this theory, when a muscle tests "weak,"
the provocative substance is bad for the patient. AK "treatment"
may include special diets, food supplements, acupressure (finger
pressure on various parts of the body), and spinal manipulation
Although the claims of applied kinesiology
are so far removed from scientific reality that testing them
might seem a waste of time, competent researchers have subjected
the muscle-testing procedures to several well-designed controlled
tests and demonstrated what should be obvious to rational
persons.
Some have found no difference in muscle response
from one substance to another, while others have found no
difference between the results with test substances and with
placebos. One study, for example, found that three practitioners
testing eleven subjects made significantly different assessments;
their diagnoses of nutritional deficiencies did not correspond
to the nutrient levels obtain by blood serum analysis; and
that the responses to nutrient substances did not significantly
differ from responses to placebos.
Some people who undergo AK muscle-testing
report that although they resisted as hard as they could,
the practitioner was still able to pull down their arm. Differences
from one test to another may be due to suggestibility; variations
in the amount of force, leverage, or follow-through involved;
and/or muscle fatigue.
Distraction can also play a role. (Touching
another part of the body just before pulling down the arm
may cause the patient to focus less on resisting.) But trickery
(deliberate or unconscious) may also be a factor. A sudden
slight upward movement can cause a "set" muscle
to relax so that it can be immediately pulled downward. I
have found that when this is done quickly, the person being
tested is unlikely to detect the upward motion.
Everything
You Need To Know About Kinesiology | Improving
Health through Kinesiology |
What
is Applied Kinesiology? | What
can kinesiology do for you? | Benefits
of kinesiology treatment |
Specialized
Kinesiology | Energy
Kinesiology | Kinesiologic
Medicine | How
Can It Help? | Muscle-Testing |
