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 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, counselling skills, evaluating environmental irritants and various reflex procedures.

Applied Kinesiology can be divided into two distinct parts.

One is an aid to diagnosis. Muscle testing is used help diagnose what is functioning abnormally. This can be a problem with the nervous system, the lymphatic drainage, the vascular supply to a muscle or organ, a nutritional excess or deficiency, a problem with the cranial-sacral or TMJ mechanism, an imbalance in the meridian system or a host of other problems. Testing individual muscles in an accurate manner and determining what affects the relative strength of the muscle when combined with the knowledge of the basic mechanics and physiological functioning of the body helps to more accurately determine what is going wrong.

The second part of Applied Kinesiology involves the treatment phase. From nutrition to chiropractic manipulation to osteopathic cranial techniques to acupuncture and meridian therapies to myofascial techniques to nervous system coordination procedures to some of the latest theories in medicine involving control of the vascular and nervous system may be employed to balance the malfunction found in the patient.

Applied Kinesiology borrows from many different disciplines and through the use of accurate, scientific muscle testing, in addition to the basic knowledge of the practitioner; helps direct the care to exactly what the patient's needs. For more information on Applied Kinesiology, visit the International College of Applied Kinesiology's website at http://www.icak.com/, or the International College of Applied Kinesiology in Canada, www.icakcanada.ca