Contents
Acknowledgments
In a brief session, a competent applied kinesiologist can evaluate your various bodily functions by testing your muscles, and then present you with a fairly accurate picture of how your glands, organs, lymphatic system, nervous system, circulation, and muscle and bone structures are working.
It's a rather bold claim, but valid, in our experience. Applied kinesiology (AK) is a practical and reliable diagnostic tool and holistic therapeutic modality that has emerged in the past twenty years or so. AK appeared in 1964, and it has grown impressively. Today there are hundreds of competent clinical and practical researchers contributing to the ever-growing body of knowledge. Since the practice was founded by a chiropractor, it makes sense that most applied kinesiologists are chiropractors. However, over the years other physicians, including dentists, M.D.'s, podiatrists (chiropodists), osteopaths, and even psychiatrists, have learned the art. Today we may approach an applied kinesiologists with confidence.
The list of health problems that the applied kinesiologist can address confidently and helpfully is impressive and still growing. For example, children with chronic sniffles or other nagging cold symptoms may benefit from a muscle-testing session. Or, if you are in need of a change in diet to knock off some fat, or merely to improve your energy level and sense of well-being, an AK session will help determine which nutrients you really need before you go to the trouble of breaking old habits and preparing new foods. Maybe you're thinking of jumping on the fitness bandwagon and plan to start running a few miles each day. If so, a muscle testing session could help you avoid the chronic problems that might develop from faulty structure. Athletes, young and old, amateur and professional, would do well to have their body functions analyzed regularly by a competent AK practitioner. These are but a few of the uses to which competent applied kinesiology can be
This book is designed to tell you everything you need to know about AK from a patient's point of view. Our resident expert, Douglas Hetrick, D.C., of Escondido, California, has been effectively applying kinesiology in his chiropractic practice for five years, and our guest experts include some of the original geniuses behind this new and exciting healing art form.
The word kisesiology is derived from the Greek and generally translates as "study of motion." In this case it refers to the study of the mechanics of bodily motion, especially muscle movements and their relationship to the rest of our complex body systems. Applied means simply "put to a practical use." All the physicians who have taken the time and effort to learn about AK have learned to put it to effective use.
A personal example can dearly illustrate how applied kinesiology works on an average person—me. My condition, when I first met with Dr. Hetrick to discuss this book, was that I was more than forty pounds overweight. In addition, I am a lousy patient—the kind who does what the physician says only if it isn't too inconvenient. Prior to Dr. Hetrick's initial examination I had learned from various other experts that I was probably hypothyroidism. That means my thyroid gland, which controls my body metabolism, wasn't doing much of a job. Physicians tell us that glands may be "hypo" (too little activity) or "hyper" (too much activity). Obviously my body had not been metabolizing, or burning up, fats very well. The standard solution for hypothyroidism is the element iodine. I had already been taking several drops of an expensive iodine solution every day for a year on the advice of a licensed nutritionist, but it didn't appear to do me any good.
One ten-minute session with Dr. Hetrick showed that my thyroid was suspect, but not necessarily because of lack of iodine. (Later we were to learn that it wasn't iodine that my body needed, but something else.) Dr. Hetrick tested only two of my muscles in
that first brief session, and the way they reacted told him what he
and having been forewarned about the possibility that "suggestion" might play a role, I questioned him on what he was about to attempt. He said that a particular muscle in my upper arm, the left teres minor, would test "weak" if my thyroid was not performing properly. He was prepared to prove to me the validity of his testing procedure. He gripped my arm in a certain way, then told me to resist strongly when he pushed it down. Then, to my surprise, as I strained against his pressure, he overcame my resistance with the ease of a circus strongman.
"Now," he said, "put your finger here," and he poked me moderately with his finger at a spot on my upper left pectoral. The spot actually hurt from his moderate pressure. When I placed my own finger on the spot, it was also tender to the touch. That particular spot marked a juncture of lymph and nerves that he said was associated with the thyroid gland. The claim is that finger pressure somehow "therapy-localizes," or isolates, the thyroid, and that when the teres minor muscle test is then repeated, the muscle may test "strong."
I did resist much more strongly on the second go-round! Now my curiosity was aroused. Just touching that spot on my chest seemed to make my arm muscle stronger. Remove the finger and, strain as I might, the muscle was weaker. This, Dr. Hetrick explained with a confident grin, could mean that my thyroid gland was malfunctioning. However, he required further testing, especially temperature taking, before he could determine the precise nature of the malfunction.
Dr. Hetrick's years of experience suggested to him that there was a likely connection between my thyroid malfunction and another set of glands. He suggested a second test. I was to lie on my back while he checked my right leg. I have always been proud of my leg strength. My legs may not be very long, but they are miniature tree trunks. "Resist," the physician commanded when
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