Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CCAM), Singapore

Applied Kinesiology is a diagnostic system using manual muscle testing to augment normal examination procedures. It evaluates structural, chemical and mental aspects of health using manual muscle testing with other standard methods of diagnosis.

The doctor / health practitioner using Applied Kinesiology finds a muscle that is unbalanced and then attempts to determine why that muscle is not functioning properly. The doctor / practitioner will then evaluate and apply the therapy that will best eliminate the muscle weakness and help the patient.

Therapies utilized can include osteopathic manipulation – such as specific joint manipulation or mobilization, various myofascial therapies, cranial techniques, etc – as well as acupuncture, clinical nutrition, dietary management, counseling, evaluating environmental irritants and so on. In some cases, the doctor / practitioner may test for environmental or food sensitivities by using a previously strong muscle to find what weakens it.

Applied Kinesiology uses the Triad of Health – that is, the Chemical, Mental and

Structural factors that balance the major health categories. A health problem on one side of the triad can affect the other sides. For example, a chemical can cause mental symptoms. Mental symptoms can cause structural imbalances. And so on.

Applied Kinesiology enables the doctor / health practitioner to evaluate the triad's balance and apply the appropriate therapy to correct the imbalance.

The International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) is the organization that develops, approves and teaches Applied Kinesiology skills.

These skills are refined from many disciplines including Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Medicine, Dentistry, Acupuncture, Biochemistry, Psychology, Homeopathy, Naturopathy etc. Members of these professions share knowledge through the publications and conferences of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK)

An Applied Kinesiology examination begins with a detailed questioning of the patient to uncover clues as to what may be going on. Generally, problems can be related to chemical imbalances, structural imbalances, mental stress or any combination of these. This is followed by general examination procedures such as measurement of the blood pressure. For example, changes in blood pressure from lying to sitting position can indicate imbalances in the body. Specific examination procedures used next. For example, skin sensitivity, knee reflex or balancing can help to uncover problems.

Finally, the strength of the muscles is evaluated. There are many causes of muscular weakness and different procedures may be used to uncover the cause. At the end of all of these different tests, the information is correlated to establish a treatment program.

Muscle testing Is just one of the tools of Applied Kinesiology. And it is used to confirm the practitioner's findings from other normal tests. Applied Kinesiology, however, is more than just muscle testing – which is often abused and over-simplified by many people.

Applied Kinesiology thus DOES NOT REPLACE standard medical examinations. Instead, Applied Kinesiology is used to clarify what exactly is the problem that a patient faces. It can speed up the process of medical examination by zooming in on the most likely cause of an imbalance, as well as by ruling out other possible causes.

Abuse of Applied Kinesiology takes place, for example, when health practitioners use muscle testing to tell patients that they should take vitamin pills or other health supplements. The patient might test weak and then, after holding a bottle of pills, test strong – and then the practitioner tells the patient to take the pills.

This is being over simplistic. To tell if a patient requires certain health supplements, the practitioner needs to know the patient's symptoms, dietary history and other information. The practitioner may need to perform other medical tests, including possibly a blood analysis.

After gathering the necessary information, the practitioner may then perform a muscle test to determine what nutrients are missing and should be supplemented. Muscle testing is not intended to be used in isolation.

Certificate training in Applied Kinesiology, conducted by the ICAK in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia, is open only to doctors and other healthcare professionals, such as osteopaths, chiropractors, dentists and others. Lay people with minimal or no medical background are not admitted to these courses.

Applied Kinesiology was discovered by Dr George Goodheart, a chiropractor. He discovered the importance of weak muscles and their clinical implications. He started these discoveries in 1964 and has researched, lectured and written about them since.

Touch For Health is a simplified form of Applied Kinesiology, taught by John Thie, an original student of Dr Goodheart.

Thie felt that the procedures in Applied Kinesiology could be simplified for use by the general public. He wrote and organized the very basic material in Applied Kinesiology and began teaching this to anyone who was interested to learn.

Touch For Health procedures are based on the very early work of Dr Goodheart, from the period 1964 to 1971.

Some Touch for Health practitioners call themselves "kinesiologists" but they are not to be confused with qualified Applied Kinesiologists trained by the ICAK. More confusion arises because many different therapies – more than 80 – today employ muscle testing and use the term "kinesiology" as part of the name.

For example, there is Behavioral Kinesiology, Educational Kinesiology, Dental Kinesiology... and even Astrological Kinesiology,

A few of the more mainstream disciplines are associated with Applied Kinesiology – as developed by Dr Goodheart and further-developed and taught by the ICAK. The rest are not.

Click here to read more about David Wells , Osteopath and Applied Kinesiologist