“Applied Kinesiology?”
“Fascinating!,” “Incredible!,” and “Amazing!” are comments often heard during a person’s initial applied kinesiology examination. The person immediately sees how body dysfunction can be found by this examination and improved function immediately obtained.
During the 1960s a new system of evaluation began to develop in chiropractic. Dr. George Goodheart of Detroit, Michigan, found that evaluation of normal and abnormal body function could be accomplished by using muscle tests. Since the original discovery, the examination system has broadened to include evaluation of the nervous, vascular, and lymphatic systems, nutrition, acupuncture, cerebrospinal fluid function and many other controlling or disturbing factors that influence health. This system is called “applied kinesiology” (kih-nee’-see-awl’-oh-jee).
Muscles are tested in different areas of the body in a manner that evaluates a specific muscle. You will note from your examination that some muscles test strong and others appear extremely weak. The “weakness” indicates not only poor control of the muscle but also possible poor control of an organ, gland and/or other tissue on the same nerve, vascular, acupuncture, or nutritional grouping. Further evaluation by the doctor reveals the “controlling” factor that might be at fault and what treatment is necessary to return normal function. If treatment is successful, there 
will be a remarkable improvement in the muscle test results. When applied kinesiolgy is combined with the usual methods of physical examination such as orthopedic, nerve, and nutrition, an extra dimension of the person’s health status is revealed.
When muscle dysfunction is found the doctor proceeds with examination to find what therapy restores proper function. Application of the therapy, if successful, immediately returns proper muscle function. Re-examination at a later time determines if the correction is maintained. Thus the system (1) finds disturbance, (2) determines how to fix it, (3) determines if the corrective effort is successful and, most important, (4) determines if the correction is stable. If the correction is not stable further examination is done to find the reason so it can be eliminated.
Procedures have been developed within the applied kinesiology framework that assist in finding the cause of muscle dysfunction. When these are applied you may observe an immediate but temporary improvement in the muscle test. This helps determine the type of treatment that will be effective in correcting the dysfunction.
Therapy Localization
During the course of your examination, the doctor may test a muscle and then have you place a finger or hand in a certain spot. S/he will then re-test the same muscle; sometimes there will be a remarkable muscle strengthening or weakening. What the doctor is doing is using your hand to stimulate nerve receptors or otherwise add or subtract energy in different centers. By so doing, one is able to obtain additional information that might indicate the cause of abnormal function. These tests, along with other clinical findings, help indicate the most effective treatment.
Challenge
The term “challenge” refers to an application of pressure the doctor applies to a joint or other structure to determine if it will influence the muscle test results. Usually the pressure is designed to stimulate mechanoreceptors that are nerve receptors in joints and other structures. In the case of a joint the test results indicate how to manipulate the joint to improve function.
Structural Balance
The illustration shows how the muscles support joints and give them stability. If the muscles of one side of the knee or lower back are not functioning properly, there may be joint strain or instability. This may cause joint fatigue, pain, easy injury, and — eventually — joint disease. Nearly all joints of the body can be involved, including the entire spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles.
Cranial Bone Movement
It was originally thought that the skull was a solid mass primarily protecting the brain. In reality, there is minute predictable movement between the bones that is necessary for normal function of the nerves and spinal fluid. Spinal fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord, providing nutrition, lubrication, and hormone movement. A bump or other type of strain to the head can jam the skull bones, causing abnormal movement. Improper nerve function may result that can cause problems in remote organs or other body structures.
There are several methods for evaluating skull function in applied kinesiology examination. The doctor may test a muscle, apply a challenge to bones of your skull, and then re-test the muscle. You may be asked to take a deep breath and hold it, and then a muscle is re-tested to determine any change. The doctor may have you touch various areas of your skull while a muscle is tested. Dysfunction of the skull is called a cranial fault. If one is found, a specific gentle pressure, the direction of which is determined by examination, will be applied to the skull, usually with a specific phase of respiration. If the correction is successful, there will be an immediate improvement of the muscle test.
Meridian Therapy
The Chinese developed a system of treating disease and maintaining health that balances the energy in the body’s meridians. In modern times, acupuncture — or more accurately — “meridian therapy” has proven a valid method of treatment. Dr. Goodheart et al. have provided some of the first advancements in this treatment in the Western world. By using applied kinesiology techniques, the flow of energy in the meridians can be evaluated and corrected if out of balance. Correction can be made by many methods of stimulation, such as electrical, laser, needles, small tape patches with metal balls, or simply by mechanically stimulating certain spots. You will note an immediate improvement in muscle function after meridian balancing.
Nutrition and Adverse Chemicals
The effect of nutrition and chemicals on health is evolving. Modern science is constantly discovering new information furthering this knowledge. Examination to find the cause of a health problem or to generally enhance health should take many factors into consideration. Your doctor's insight into health and nutritional problems begins with observation. Hair and skin quality, color of the whites of the eyes, feeling of glands, organs and muscles, and other observations offer initial clues for further examination. Laboratory examination or special tests may follow. In addition to these usual procedures, your doctor may test various muscles before and after you chew or inhale nutritional or chemical factors.
Nutritional items, when chewed, stimulate the nerve endings in the mouth. This 
may have an immediate effect on muscle function. For example, if the muscle clinically associated with the liver is weak and vitamin A is indicated for liver support, chewing vitamin A or a carrot may cause immediate and dramatic improvement of the muscle’s function, as indicated by the manual muscle test. Conversely, if a toxic chemical is causing a problem in the liver, a muscle associated with the liver will test poorly immediately after the substance is chewed or inhaled.
All aspects of the examination should correlate and lead to the final diagnosis and recommendation for treatment. Applied kinesiology muscle tests for nutrition and chemicals do not take the place of a complete, thorough examination; rather, they augment it by evaluating how the body responds to the substance(s) being tested. This adds a functional evaluation that takes into consideration the biochemical individuality of people.
You will be pleased with your doctor’s addition of applied kinesiology to his/her other diagnostic methods. It not only helps the doctor determine the type of treatment needed, it also helps both of you to determine the progress being obtained. As your treatment progresses, you will observe muscles that once functioned poorly now test strong. This, of course, is because your body is now functioning in a more normal manner.
Applied kinesiology examination combined with the usual examination methods helps find dysfunction, how to correct it, and then when a corrective attempt is done to determine if the effort actually made an improvement. On future visits the examination method reveals if the correction held. If the correction is not stable further examination will determine additional treatment needs.
When health is back to its maximum level, your doctor can use applied kinesiology procedures to help you maintain it by finding poor function and correcting the problem before symptoms develop.