In the early 1940's John's Hopkins introduced Manual Muscle Testing in order to quantify the amount of disability in a patient. The process begins by isolating a muscle. This is accomplished by positioning the patient in a precise position to avoid recruitment from other muscles and ensure that the selected muscle has maximum leverage. (If testing a shoulder abductor, the arm is abducted and pushed into adduction.) The patient receives instructions to start the movement, at which time the doctor meets that pressure and adds a little more. The outcomes are evaluated as follows:
5 no movement. The muscle is functioning optimally
4 Suboptimal. The muscle is unable to adapt to additional force. It "folds" under the doctor's pressure and the extended limb is moved with relative ease.
3-0 occurs with muscle or nerve pathology. Outcomes vary from barely resisting gravity to rigid paralysis.
Fast forward to 1964, when Dr George Goodheart of Detroit, Michigan, noticed one of his patient's scapula (shoulder blade) sticking out more than the other. (The patient's primary complaint was shoulder pain.) Dr Goodheart knew that the muscle responsible for pulling in the shoulder blade is serratus anterior, so he tested it bilaterally. Sure enough it was weak (4/5) on the same side as the bulging shoulder blade. He felt the muscle and found small discrete nodules, "like a bee bee under a piece of raw bacon." These nodules were near the origin of the muscle and were exquisitely tender. Dr Goodheart was exceptionally intuitive, so he rubbed the bee bee-like nodules. As he did this, the nodules 'melted' under his fingertips. Once finished, he re-tested serratus anterior and found it to be strong. His patient never had the same problem again. Dr. Goodheart had serendipitously discovered origin-insertion technique. He continued working with MMT, discovering a multitude of other techniques and phenomena until he eventually formed his own group of interested professionals. Dr. Goodheart called his approach Applied Kinesiology (AK).
AK frequently produces results that are so rapid, they appear magical. As such, non-practitioners ridicule AK as being pseudo-scientific, psycho-somatic 'voodoo.' Some of Dr. Goodheart's students didn't help either when they tried instructing laypersons who weren't trained in medicine or science. Unfortunately, MMT has been watered down by charlatans on TV. These frauds 'test' muscles to demonstrate weakness. Then, they ask the person to wear a 'magic' wristband. Once another sham 'test' reveals miraculous strengthening, they inform viewers how they may also purchase one.
Many factors differentiate a con-artist from a true professional applied kinesiologist.
1. A professional applied kinesiologist can explain in detail which muscle (s)he is testing.
2. An AK doctor is able to delineate between muscle strength and muscle inhibition:
The nerve which innervates a muscle is actually composed of many individual cells. Muscles are composed of many more cells. Each individual nerve cell divides at the motor-end plate to reach many muscle cells. This can be discussed as the nerve to muscle ratio. For discussion, let's choose a ratio of 1:10, meaning each nerve cell commands ten muscle cells. Body builders will have a greater nerve to muscle ratio, because strength is the result of having more muscle cells.
Nerve inhibition often causes MMT 'weakness'. If the nerve were cut, the muscle would obviously be paralyzed (0/5). Inhibition occurs if we pinch it, impairing only one of the nerve cells. Now the muscle is 90% as effective as it once was. The patient may not even notice the weakness, but the muscle is less capable of adapting to daily demands, predisposing the person to a serious injury. Inhibition occurs when muscles test weak due to a nerve 'blockage.'
Simply put, a professional will be able to figure out why the muscle is testing weak (4/5) and explain how it can be fixed with detail. They will have a medical degree granting them primary care rights and a bare minimum of 100 hours certification in AK. Specialization is conferred by the title of Diplomate and designated with the credentials DIBAK after their name. For information on how to find a professional applied kinesiologist, visit the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) online.
5 no movement. The muscle is functioning optimally
4 Suboptimal. The muscle is unable to adapt to additional force. It "folds" under the doctor's pressure and the extended limb is moved with relative ease.
3-0 occurs with muscle or nerve pathology. Outcomes vary from barely resisting gravity to rigid paralysis.
Fast forward to 1964, when Dr George Goodheart of Detroit, Michigan, noticed one of his patient's scapula (shoulder blade) sticking out more than the other. (The patient's primary complaint was shoulder pain.) Dr Goodheart knew that the muscle responsible for pulling in the shoulder blade is serratus anterior, so he tested it bilaterally. Sure enough it was weak (4/5) on the same side as the bulging shoulder blade. He felt the muscle and found small discrete nodules, "like a bee bee under a piece of raw bacon." These nodules were near the origin of the muscle and were exquisitely tender. Dr Goodheart was exceptionally intuitive, so he rubbed the bee bee-like nodules. As he did this, the nodules 'melted' under his fingertips. Once finished, he re-tested serratus anterior and found it to be strong. His patient never had the same problem again. Dr. Goodheart had serendipitously discovered origin-insertion technique. He continued working with MMT, discovering a multitude of other techniques and phenomena until he eventually formed his own group of interested professionals. Dr. Goodheart called his approach Applied Kinesiology (AK).
AK frequently produces results that are so rapid, they appear magical. As such, non-practitioners ridicule AK as being pseudo-scientific, psycho-somatic 'voodoo.' Some of Dr. Goodheart's students didn't help either when they tried instructing laypersons who weren't trained in medicine or science. Unfortunately, MMT has been watered down by charlatans on TV. These frauds 'test' muscles to demonstrate weakness. Then, they ask the person to wear a 'magic' wristband. Once another sham 'test' reveals miraculous strengthening, they inform viewers how they may also purchase one.
Many factors differentiate a con-artist from a true professional applied kinesiologist.
1. A professional applied kinesiologist can explain in detail which muscle (s)he is testing.
2. An AK doctor is able to delineate between muscle strength and muscle inhibition:
The nerve which innervates a muscle is actually composed of many individual cells. Muscles are composed of many more cells. Each individual nerve cell divides at the motor-end plate to reach many muscle cells. This can be discussed as the nerve to muscle ratio. For discussion, let's choose a ratio of 1:10, meaning each nerve cell commands ten muscle cells. Body builders will have a greater nerve to muscle ratio, because strength is the result of having more muscle cells.
Nerve inhibition often causes MMT 'weakness'. If the nerve were cut, the muscle would obviously be paralyzed (0/5). Inhibition occurs if we pinch it, impairing only one of the nerve cells. Now the muscle is 90% as effective as it once was. The patient may not even notice the weakness, but the muscle is less capable of adapting to daily demands, predisposing the person to a serious injury. Inhibition occurs when muscles test weak due to a nerve 'blockage.'
Simply put, a professional will be able to figure out why the muscle is testing weak (4/5) and explain how it can be fixed with detail. They will have a medical degree granting them primary care rights and a bare minimum of 100 hours certification in AK. Specialization is conferred by the title of Diplomate and designated with the credentials DIBAK after their name. For information on how to find a professional applied kinesiologist, visit the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) online.
About the Author:
Charles Leahy writes about alternative healthcare. Find a great glen ellyn chiropractor, and learn all about applied kinesiology.