What is APPLIED KINESIOLOGY?

Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a system that evaluates structural, chemical and mental aspects of health using manual muscle testing with other standard methods of diagnosis.

The doctor using AK finds a muscle that is unbalanced (knotted or weak), and then attempts to determine why that muscle is not functioning properly. The doctor works out the treatment that will best balance the patient's muscles.

Treatments may involve specific joint manipulation or mobilization, various myofascial therapies, cranial techniques, meridian and acupuncture skills, clinical nutrition, dietary management, counseling skills, evaluating environmental irritants and various reflex procedures.

AK uses the Triad of Health. That is Chemical, Mental and Structural factors that balance the major health categories.

The Triad of Health is interactive and all sides must be evaluated for the underlying cause of a problem. A health problem on one side of the triad can affect the other sides. For example, a chemical imbalance can cause mental symptoms. AK enables the doctor to evaluate the triad's balance and direct therapy toward the imbalanced side or sides.

Applied kinesiology finds its roots in observations made in 1964 by Dr. George J. Goodheart, Jr, a chiropractic physician, then practicing in Detroit, Michigan. Goodheart’s observations regarding muscle balance, muscle strength and muscle weakness refuted the then held theory that muscle spasm was the primary cause of back pain. According to Goodheart, and AK, the primary cause of back pain is muscle weakness.

Weakness (inhibition) of any muscle, Goodheart observes, causes the contralateral, antagonistic or opposing muscles to contract, thereby causing pain. When a muscle contracts without the normal antagonistic response, it isn't the tight or contracted muscle that needs help, it is the weak (inhibited) muscle that needs to be strengthened (facilitated), thereby restoring muscle balance and relieving secondary muscle spasm. A real case of primary muscle spasm is, in reality, seldom seen. It is, rather, a secondary condition.

Applied kinesiology allows the doctor to diagnose, through the use of the manual muscle testing response, the need for the application of a variety of sensory receptor based therapies that, when appropriately applied, result in improved neurological function. This "new system of diagnosis" confirms that when the need is diagnosed and appropriate therapy is supplied, the results are often remarkable.

Each of the physicians at Painless-chiropractor.com are trained in Applied Kinesiology, and routinely utilize these techniques to enhance the chiropractic adjustment.

For more information, visit our website at www.Painless-Chiropractor.com. Emailing specific questions to the doctors is encouraged!