Admittedly, some of the newly popular alternative therapies seem… well… a bit suspect. A prime example of this is muscle testing, also referred to as manual muscle testing (MMT), and officially named “applied kinesiology.” It’s a diagnostic technique that supposedly reveals all sorts of surprising truths about your body and soul. It is utilized by some holistic medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, dentists, nutritionists and physical and massage therapists, as well as different types of psychic “healers.”
Most often applied kinesiology is used to broadly evaluate a person’s structural, mental and chemical makeup. Just some of the problems MMT is said to help reveal are muscle/skeletal imbalances, joint problems, food sensitivities, allergies, emotional issues, organ dysfunction, neurological problems and nutritional deficiencies. It should not be confused with kinesiology, the very legitimate area of science which studies the mechanics of the human body in motion.
Applied kinesiology is relatively new and definitely not a science in the traditional sense of the word. Applied kinesiology was started in 1964 by a Michigan chiropractor named George J. Goodheart, Jr., who was knowledgeable about the Chinese medicine practice of acupressure, based on the acupuncture points that are distributed along meridians (energy channels) of the body. Dr. Goodheart came to believe that there was an association between specific muscles and problems with a given organ. For instance, weakness in the deltoid muscles in the chest, he said, indicates a possible problem in the lungs. Dr. Goodheart started using MMT in his practice to treat muscle problems, but as he began to associate organ disease with muscle weakness, he expanded MMT as a diagnostic tool.
TESTING
MMT has come very far since Dr. Goodheart’s early practice of it, both in the extensive range of diagnostic purposes and variety of techniques now practiced. As a rule, MMT requires you to raise one arm (you can be sitting or standing) as the practitioner asks a straightforward “yes-no” question, while he/she gently presses the arm to push it down. If you can easily resist the pressure, the muscle is revealing that it is healthy and there is no imbalance in the related part of the body. If, though, your arm drops in response to pressure, it indicates that there is a problem. One type of MMT, called “localization,” tests for nutritional deficiencies, food or chemical sensitivities. Generally you are asked to hold a bit of the substance being evaluated under your tongue (or in your hand) while the practitioner pushes on your arm. Again, an arm that collapses under pressure indicates a problem with the particular substance. Another type of MMT, called a challenge, evaluates the impact of emotional issues. The practitioner asks about an event in your past that may be upsetting on some level. A weak muscle response reveals that you continue to have a problem with the event or person that needs to be addressed and resolved. MMT is truly fascinating to experience since you feel your muscles weaken yet have no conscious understanding of why it happens.
BUT, DOES IT WORK?
I called Mark Stengler, ND, frequent contributor to Daily Health News, to get his thoughts about the reliability of muscle testing. He tells me he does not use it but has nothing against it… with one huge caveat. Muscle testing should only be used as one among a battery of other tests — conventional ones, including medical history, physical exam and appropriate lab tests. MMT may be helpful in providing additional information for diagnosis. But he quickly adds that MMT findings are subjective (which is why many describe it as an “art”) and that there is no solid research behind the validity of the technique, nor evidence that it works. He does admit, though, that to some people muscle testing has a kind of emotional appeal.
Quality healthcare practitioners who use MMT do so as part of overall testing… and you should run for the door if a practitioner you visit doesn’t see it as just one among many tools to identify small problems so they can be addressed before they become much bigger. Unless used inappropriately for diagnosis, no known safety problems are linked to the use of applied kinesiology.
If you are considering using MMT or your practitioner uses it, be sure he/she is properly trained. Licensed healthcare practitioners can earn certification in MMT from the International College of Applied Kinesiology through advanced training — note, however, that the Council on Chiropractic Education does not recognize this certification.
