Dr. Blaich compares the approach taken by applied kinesiology with that of conventional medicine in treating asthma, to illustrate the relationship of  activity of muscles to health. Conventionally, asthma is treated with adrenal hormones or their derivatives, but is still considered to be a problem related to the lung. By contrast, an applied kinesiologist looks for a weakness in specific low back and leg muscles which, although normally associated with low back pain or knee problems, also share a connection with the adrenals. The applied kinesiologist would both strengthen these muscles and help the adrenal glands produce their own bronchodilators (chemicals that relax or open the air passages in the lungs).

  Dr. Blaich says that muscle testing is often the key to balancing mechanically opposed muscles, since a muscle spasm usually exists secondary to and opposite a weak muscle. If you want to bend your elbow, the bicep muscle must ''turn on'' and the tricep muscle ''turn off''. If both muscles are either ''on'' or ''off'' the elbow will not bend. When you realize that muscles turn ''on'' and ''off'' during all normal activities, it is easy to understand how an injury may leave a particular muscle stuck ''on'' or ''off''.

  For example, when we step forward with our left leg, the right arm also goes forward because the extensor muscles that pull back on the right arm are ''turned off.'' This ''turning off'' is controlled by and dependent upon getting the correct messages from the nerve endings in the left foot. When we step down on the left foot, the joint receptors there send a message that shuts off the right shoulder. So, if one has a right shoulder problem, it may actually be due to a misaligned bone in the left foot that is causing the shoulder to be stuck ''on'' or ''off.'' The person's nervous system is acting as if he's taking a step with his left foot when, in fact, he is not.

  A muscle that is stuck ''on'' acts like a tense muscle spasm, such as a ''charlie horse''. A muscle that is stuck ''off'' may appear flaccid. Diagnostic evaluation by the applied kinesiologist determines whether muscles are ''on'' or ''off'' as they should be during normal activity. This knowledge gives doctors an entirely new mechanism for the understanding of muscle spasm.

  Muscle dysfunction in an otherwise healthy person can be corrected through the use of various reflexes or by performing a manual procedure on the muscle, such as deep massage, goading pressure on the attachment points, or realignment. According to Dr. Blaich, by this method, muscles can be reset to function smoothly.

The aims of applied kinesiology are to:

• Determine patient health status, and correlate findings with standard diagnostic procedures
• Restore postural balance, correct gait impairment, improve range of motion
• Restore normal nerve function
• Achieve normal endocrine, immune, digestive, and other internal organ functions
• Intervene early in degenerative processes to prevent or delay pathological conditions

The Origin of Applied Kinesiology

  A chiropractic physician and the founder of applied kinesiology, George Goodheart, D.C., of Detroit, Michigan, first observed in 1964 that in the absence of skeletal deformity, postural distortion is often associated with muscle dysfunction.

  To Dr. Goodheart's office frequently came a delivery boy who exhibited "winged scapulae" (flaring of the shoulder blades). This deformity occurs if a specific muscle is weakened by being slightly separated from the bone and is not doing its job of holding the shoulder blades in their proper position. Dr. Goodheart was aware of the development and utilization of manual muscle tests for the purpose of disability evaluation (developed at Johns Hopkins University in the 1940s), and he experimented with the boy by doing a manual procedure of firm, goading pressure on the attachment points of the weak (serratus anterior) muscles. An immediate response was that the muscles "turned on" and the boy's shoulder blades adopted a normal position.

  Dr. Goodheart saw that these noninvasive, manipulative treatments restoredneuromuscular function, and today they are the core approach to a therapy that encompasses joint manipulation and mobilization, myofascial (muscle sheath) therapies, cranial adjustments, meridian therapy, clinical nutrition, dietary management, and various reflex procedures.

  Over the years, Dr. Goodheart discovered and developed many other procedures that returned injured, strained, or otherwise disabled muscles to their normal state. He taught his techniques to others, and eventually applied kinesiology was born. In 1974, a group of practitioners founded the International College of Applied Kinesiology, and today applied kinesiology is a widely practiced method of diagnosis and treatment.

Strong and Weak Muscles

  Recent research has demonstrated a neurologic difference between "strong" and "weak" muscles, as identified through applied kinesiology testing. Weak muscles will commonly exhibit as much actual force as normal muscles. On the other hand, there are other dynamics to a weak muscle besides the actual force it generates. Studies suggest at least part of this other quality lies in the timing of the electrical activity in the muscle. Dr. Blaich notes that a weak muscle will often have a delayed reaction to stimulus.

  Muscles become weak for many reasons, including immobility (such as when an arm is in a cast), lack of exercise, poor posture, gland or organ dysfunction, or injury. According to Dr. Blaich, some of the common internal causes of muscle weakness are:

• Dysfunction of the nerve supply (nerve interference between the spine and the muscles)
• Impairment of lymphatic drainage
• Reduced blood supply
• Abnormal pressure in the cerebrospinal fluid affecting the nerve-to-muscle relationship
• Blockage of an acupuncture meridian
• Chemical imbalance
• Organ or gland dysfunction

   

  When tested muscle demonstrates abnormal function, it means that one or more of these conditions exists. The abnormality usually manifests as muscle weakness. The bones that should be supported by that muscle may be misaligned or inflamed, or may demonstrate signs of premature wear and tear, commonly in the form of osteoarthritis.