AK Newsletter Vol 1, No 4

The strong point of applied kinesiology examination is that it evaluates function and then directs the physician toward the proper treatment to correct dysfunction. Often there are improvements in health of which the treating doctor is unaware.

I learned a long time ago that patients tell me what they think I need to know. My routine is to do a complete system and symptom history on all new patents. As a new patient becomes aware of applied kinesiology’s scope of practice additional questions about health come up. There may be a discussion regarding “heartburn” that leads to a general discussion of digestive function. Not remembering that the patient has digestive problems I go back and look at my notes from the initial consultation and find that the patient denied having any digestive problems; after all, he is seeing a back doctor for low back pain.

A typical scenario is for a woman who comes in for low back pain to comment after treatment that her health is improving in several aspects. Two or three months later I am asked if there is anything that we have been doing that could change her PMS and improve her menstruation. After the nervous and endocrine systems are explained she comments that her husband thinks she is a different woman at that time of the month. Again, looking back at the initial consultation notes it is found that she denied any problem with menstruation.

One approach to patient education is to give a report of findings after the initial examination. Some do this verbally while others prepare a written report and sit with the patient (and anyone else that will listen) to provide a formal report. An approach to patient education that provides the most information is one that starts during the initial examination. Explain that the muscle tests determine how the nervous system is working. When checking blood pressure note that it should rise from sitting to standing, which is a function of the adrenal gland. When a muscle strengthens with a phase of respiration, explain the cranial-sacral primary respiratory system and how it affects the cranial nerves and what they control. This list could go on and on.

Constantly explaining to the patient what is taking place in examination rapidly broadens the patient’s understanding of applied kinesiology’s scope of practice. Many of Systems DC’s brochures are designed to discuss not only the main subject of the brochure but to broaden the patient’s understanding of the AK scope of practice.

When there is ongoing explanation about the applied kinesiology examination, the patient soon recognizes that AK evaluates the nervous and endocrine systems, acupuncture energy patterns, nutrition, and other factors that enable the body to be a self- correcting, self-maintaining system as designed. When the controlling mechanisms are functioning correctly it is obvious that keeping them that way is the ideal approach to health and longevity.

At one time when a patient’s chief complaint (headache, shoulder/arm pain, foot problems, etc.) was corrected I gave him the choice of being dismissed from care or placed on maintenance health care. I could tell immediately how well I had explained applied kinesiology by the percentage of patients who choose maintenance health care. If I was explaining correctly, the majority of patients chose maintenance care and followed through for many years. The frequency of maintenance examination varied with an individual’s needs from monthly to biannually. Usually we would start out with a monthly examination and then reduce frequency, depending on what was found on each examination.

Now I just dismiss a patient when the chief complaint is corrected. This is not the best approach for the patient but if I converted patients to maintenance health care the practice would be so full I would not be able to accept new patients, and I like the experience of new challenges.

Still I can see how well I have done in broadening the patient’s knowledge of AK by what happens after dismissal. When the education is good the patient comes back with different types of health issues and refers new patients with different types of problems. If the headache patient only sends in headache patients, I haven’t done a very good job of broadening the knowledge of AK’s scope of practice.

THIS is more important than GETTING well! This brochure covers maintenance health care and is a good one to have displayed in the reception room. It covers the triad of health. It points out that many chronic health problems develop without symptoms for many years before any symptoms are apparent.

As one observes many individuals performing manual muscle testing, it becomes obvious that much inaccurate information is obtained by inept testing methods. Manual muscle testing is a tool used to evaluate function. As such it is no better than the operator using it. Manual muscle testing can be compared to a stethoscope, which is a valuable tool of diagnosis but is no better than the individual interpreting the sounds perceived by the auscultation. In other words, a stethoscope is no better than what is between the earpieces.

Manual muscle testing must be done with a high level of anatomical and physiological knowledge. Lack of this technical expertise creates a severe handicap for those who are doing manual muscle testing in some of the lay movements which are promoting the procedure. Possibly the worst are lay persons who use manual muscle testing to sell nutrition. It is important that each individual practicing applied kinesiology with expertise be constantly aware of opportunities to educate others about proficient manual muscle testing and how easy it is to obtain incorrect information.

One of the major reasons for obtaining improper information from manual muscle testing is when the person performing the test has a "mind-set" as to the outcome before the test is performed. An example of this is the person who believes that white sugar causes everyone to have general muscle weakness as perceived on manual muscle testing. With this "mind-set," the examiner will find that all individuals weaken when chewing white sugar. This adverse effect on the general population is not true when accurate muscle testing is done. In fact, in some cases of endocrine imbalance, white sugar will temporarily improve muscle function. It is therefore important that the examiner not have preconceived ideas of what a manual muscle test result will be. A good indication that the examiner is testing accurately is when the results of a test do not correlate with the expected findings. In other words, findings from the testing procedures are not consistently predictable. If a "mind-set" is used with manual muscle testing, it should be one that is desirous of finding out how the individual functions regardless of the test's outcome. When we are trying to prove something to someone, we are in an extremely vulnerable position to perform manual muscle testing inaccurately.

When we understand that our mental attitude can subtly change the parameters of the test, which include the timing of the test, we are in a much better position to perform manual muscle testing accurately. When one is knowledgeable about manual muscle testing it is easily observed that subtle changes in the parameters of the testing procedure are subconsciously made by the examiner. These subtle changes can be in the timing of the test, allowing the patient to recruit synergistic muscles, changing the vector of force, or inadequately stabilizing the patient.

Probably the most insidious parameter change is in the timing of the test. It appears that manual muscle testing as performed in applied kinesiology is not testing for actual muscle strength; rather it is testing the nervous system's ability to adapt the muscle to the changing pressure of the examiner's test. A nervous system functioning optimally will immediately adapt the muscle activity to meet the demands of the test. There appears to be a delay in the recruitment of muscle motor units when the nervous system is functioning inadequately. This delay varies with the severity of the nervous system’s impairment. A slight timing change in the examiner’s application of testing pressure may change the results of the perceived muscle strength.

All who practice applied kinesiology should periodically evaluate their proficiency and muscle testing accuracy. Since the manual muscle test is one of the primary investigative tools in applied kinesiology, the results of the testing procedure depend upon its accuracy.

Many versions of the patient report of findings have been promoted by different practice management groups. In addition to explaining what is wrong in applied kinesiology it is just as important to explain to the patient how the information is obtained from an AK examination.

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