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The biofeedback system of kinesiology
History of Muscle Testing from the Perspective of Kinesiology
The muscle test is a proven “feedback system” through the body. The Mayans already used it to detect drinking water sources. At the beginning of the 20th century, orthopedists further developed muscle testing until it became part of Academic Kinesiology (motion theory). This theory deals with the precise sequence of muscle movements and the resulting movement of the joints. The first books on kinesiology were mainly related to sports, military training, and rehabilitation.
The work of Florence and Henry Kendall was groundbreaking. Their book “Muscles: Functions and Tests” provided long-awaited answers to unresolved questions for many people working in the health field and interested in the mechanical aspects of the body. Since George Goodheart, the developer of kinesiology, discovered that muscle testing provides information about the energetic state of the body, it has been used as a biofeedback system in kinesiology. Goodheart, a chiropractor, discovered the connection between meridians and muscle testing, MRT (muscle response testing), and how it can provide information about the energetic state of the meridian system.
How Muscle Testing Works
Muscle testing is not intended to test arm strength but rather the neural control of arm muscles.
If the muscle switches off when pressure is applied to the arm, i.e., it yields, an imbalance becomes visible, which is then brought back into balance through various corrective measures. That is why the work of kinesiologists is called balancing.
Scientific Evidence of Effectiveness
Until 2016, when Anne Jensen demonstrated the effectiveness of muscle testing in her dissertation “Estimating the accuracy of muscle response testing” in a randomized blind study, muscle testing was not considered serious or meaningful by many established sciences. Although it has been successfully used as a “tool” by kinesiologists for over 50 years, Anne Jensen’s work provided the first scientific evidence of the effectiveness of muscle testing.
Doctors who have attended further training in medical kinesiology, AK (Applied Kinesiology), and use this method in their treatments will be pleased that their additional method is gaining more and more scientific recognition.
Those interested in learning more about the study can download the article “Muscle Testing in Kinesiology,” which I published in Springer Verlag in 2019, as a PDF on the home page.
About Bärbel
Since 2000, I have been working as a professional kinesiologist with a focus on the brain. My clients benefit from my many years of experience and the well-balanced repertoire of methods I offer. The results are calmness and serenity.
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