the whole structure is in balance.

the structure cannot be held in balance.

With its origins in chiropractic, AK is uniquely suited for diagnosing the myriad complaints connected with the musculo-skeletal system.

Over and above this AK offers a simple solution for the diagnosis of allergies, intolerances, toxic (over)loads, medication, organic and meridian dysfunctions, as well as emotional strain.

"I ask the patient to bring the arm into a position of 90° abduction with 90° flexion in the elbow. I then make sure that the patient understands the testing procedure, which consists of the patient pushing into a direction of further abduction as hard as he can against my own pressure. This pressure is applied with a broad soft contact of my hand resting over the distal humerus and the proximal forearm in a caudalward direction.
The whole muscle test is isometric; I feel how the patient builds up his maximum force and then add a little more pressure of 3 - 5 % for 1.5 - 2.5 seconds. "Strength" is defined as the patient´s ability to resist the little extra pressure; "weakness" is defined as the inability to resist that extra pressure.
So, in essence, it is a patient started test that does not evaluate absolute muscle strength in pounds or kp´s, but the patient´s ability to perform a maximum isometric contraction plus resist my little extra pressure.
Unless for specific questions like aerobic/anaerobic problems the test shouldn´t last longer than 2 - 3 seconds."

In an attempt to visualize the muscle test, the following diagram emerges:

The test hinges on the supposition that the patient is pressing with maximum force against the resistance of the person examining and that the examiner can then slowly to increase his own pressure (2-4%) in a way that the patient will hardly discern.

It is imperative that the patient does not feel "overpowered" by the examiner!

This definition should be considered very carefully as it has the following consequences:

- no life without stress
- without stress no life

Selye himself underlined these from the very beginning, he was often misunderstood -as he is sometimes still today. For this very reason he came up with two further terms:

"Eustress" and Distress

These describe in principle the two polarities which, as in our everyday life, exist in the word stress; namely "eustress" for what we desire to do, for what is good for us and, on the other hand, distress for what we try to avoid, what is bad for us, for what we are forced to do, etc..

Put in simple terms, it should be our aim to achieve as much $eustress$ and as little distress as possible. Selye himself offered the following advice:

- learn to distinguish between $eustress$ and distress
- identify and analyse your problems as precisely as possible
- do not overexert or compel yourself, recognize your need for rest and heed it
- clear up hotbeds of infection; Selye pointed out that such hotbeds are constant sources of stress for the organism, even if no symptoms are evident
- avoid an imbalanced life style. The body is predisposed to compensate stress in one area (e.g. hard physical work) with stress in another (e.g. reading, music).

When the overall amount of stress becomes too much, then rest!

Decades of tests with laboratory animals proved to Selye that sooner or later, whatever the method, it was possible to stress any animal to death, and it was always the same organs that suffered:

- stomach: inflamations, ulcers, ruptures
- thymus: atrophy (diminished and functionally inhibited)
- adrenal glands: (fatty and functionally inhibited)

Other organs were also hit, depending on the source of stress, but the three named tended to suffer without fail!

Stress-associated problems

- recurring infections
- allergies and hay fever
- stomach and other digestive symptoms
- insomnia, irritability, lack of energy, other unusual mental symptoms
- lack of concentration, confusion of thought
- chronic fatigue, depressive tendencies
- trembling, nervous ticks, stuttering
- teeth grinding at night leading to a greater sensitivity to sweet/sour, hot/cold, perhaps problems with the jaw bone
- frequent urge to urinate
- migraine, premenstrual syndrome
- neck and back pain ("the devil's at my back")
- too great or small an appetite
- greater desire for nicotine, alcohol, coffee or other stimulants/drugs
- recurring minor injuries or chronic aches and pains which refuse to go away, in spite good therapy

The three possible muscle responses

weak-normotonic-hypertonic

can be explained with Selye's concept:


Normotonicity: normotonicity corresponds to a relatively satisfactory state of response, as the body is obviously capable of recognizing both potentially negative and positive stimuli and of reacting appropriately in the muscle test.
This category encompasses isolated muscle weaknesses which may crop up for various reasons and can usually be treated successfully with various therapeutical measures.

Hypertonicity: This state -especially when practically all the muscles are hypertonic- is usually expressed by excessive tension in the whole organism and therefore also in the muscles.
In most cases this is due to incessant and inordinate stress of one kind or another. According to Selye the primary aim for the patient would be to get some rest; for the therapist it means taking all possible measures to relieve the patient on as many fronts as possible. One has to purify the body, cleanse the stomach, avoid allergens, detoxify hotbeds of infection (rotten or dead teeth, infected tonsils), ensure more outdoor activity, amongst other things.

Parallel to this the most demanding psychological stress factors should be taken to task while replacing any lacking orthomolecular substances (vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes, etc.) with all possible speed and effectiveness.

General weakness: the next step according to Selye is the stage of exhaustion; in AK testing this corresponds to a state in which practically all the patient's muscles are weak, and in which it is often very difficult to build up the strength of even a single muscle. For this condition the measures described for hypertonicity are of similar significance, but must be applied with even more care and often even more intensively. It is also important to impart to the patient positive energy, peace and quiet, warmth and emotional support.

4. The two most important AK diagnostic methods:

TL and Challenge

While applied kinesiology was taking its first steps correct therapeutical measures were often a matter of trial and error. However, Dr. Goodheart soon came up with two methods for improving AK diagnostics: therapy localisation and challenge.

Therapy Localisation (TL)

Although the phenomenon of TL has still not been fully explained, its function in AK examinations is understood:

If a patient touches a certain region of his or her body and a change in the muscle strength occurs, then we term this positive TL. Therapy localisation tells us where a disturbance lies, but not what kind of disturbance.

Examples:

* Positive TL in the spinal region indicates further examination by palpatation and functional analysis. If a subluxation or fixation is found and corrected then the positive TL vanishes.

* Positive TL at an operation scar points to a disturbance in this area. This can emanate from the scar itself or from any one of the underlying structures or organs. In this case one should begin to treat the scar with one or several therapeutical methods such as laser, Neurotherapy, ice, massage, etc., and then test again. Should the positive TL persist, a more thorough examination of the organs is required.

Challenge

If when the patient is subjected to a test stimulus the muscle strength changes, this is what we term a positive challenge.

Just as with TL the change in strength can go from strong to weak and from weak to strong.

There are five possible reactions to a challenge:

The challenge...

a) can weaken a normotonic or hypertonic muscle
b) can strengthen a weak muscle
c) does not change the strength of a strong or a weak muscle

d) can cause a weak or normotonic muscle to become hypertonic
e) can cause a hypertonic muscle to become normotonic

Case a):
The body recognizes the challenge as a stress factor which is significant or specific enough to cause a neuro-muscular inhibition (="the muscle turns off")

Case b):
The body recognizes the challenge as a stress factor specific enough to correct an existing neuro-muscular inhibition, which leads to a strengthening of the muscle.

Case c):
The challenge might be potentially significant, yet at this point in time the body does not react.

Case d):
The challenge obviously represents a highly significant stress factor for the body, to which it responds with the maximal reaction, hypertonicity, as a sign of alarm.

Case e):
The challenge -usually therapeutical- is energically optimal and apparantly beneficial for the patient as it is capable of releasing the patient out of the alarm state of hypertonicity.

The challenge now represents the basis of any thorough AK examination.

Example A
Applied to the spine, skull, pelvis and other bony structures the challenge provides the precise correctional vector (= direction for manual treatment) and, if necessary, the breathing phase to support a smooth, mobilizing technique.

Example B
Oral or nasal challenge reveals nutritional intolerances, irritating or toxic substances for the body, allergies, etc. when a previously normotonic muscle becomes hypertonic or weak upon inhalation or ingestion of the substance in question [cases a) and d)].

Example C
When a muscle becomes normotonic as a reaction to an orthomolecular substance, one may conclude that the substance would at this time benifit the patient [cases b) and e)]. This does not necessarly mean that the patient is suffering from a deficiency of this specific (nutritional) substance, but does indicate a more thorough examination which should involve a combination of patient history, physical examination and laboratory tests.

Example D
When a weak muscle becomes normotonic as a reaction to homeopathic supplements, phytotherpeutics or allopathic measures [cases b) and e)], then precisely these measures would appear indicated. But here also other diagnostic criteria should be fulfilled and these therapeutical measures only be perscribed taking aspects of medication tolerance, pathophysiology and specific effect into consideration.

Example E
When the visualization of a problem or the exposition to a psychologically demanding situation causes the muscle to weaken or become hypertonic, this is what we term a positive psychological challenge, which would require further examination and appropriate therapy.

Even in the very early stages of AK development it became apparent that certain muscles are connected with specific organs: Dr. Goodheart termed this muscle/organ/meridian association an element of "body language". The classical result of an organ dysfunction is muscle weakness. If one observes the various body regions and the adaptive body mechanisms, one may differentiate between three different types of reaction:

In the case of an organ dysfunction the test of the associated muscle turns out either

a) weak
b) normotonic
c) hypertonic

The cases b) and c) are those which may prove troublesome if the test is not executed with the required skill. However, a careful AK test carried out in conjunction with other recognized diagnostic measures will almost always yield a natural/logical explanation:

for b):
the body has become accustomed to the dysfunction and may only express a weakness in one or several systems essential for adaptation, or else no weakness at all

-or-
due to neurological dysorganisation, psychological reversal, etc. the body has become incapable of exhibiting weakness.

for c):
in AK hypertonic means "not weakening to a physiologically weakening stimulus". One simple explanation may be that regulatory processes suffuse energy into the dysfunctioning system. General hypertonicity usually results from prolonged, unrelenting stress of any kind.


The AK test for allergies, intolerances and other over-sensitive reactions.

As can be concluded from the above -see example B- AK provides an ideally facile method for determining which substances effect the patient in a negative manner and in fact incompatibilities of any order.

Again the basic principle: if any substance causes a strong muscle to weaken or a weak or normotonic muscle to become hypertonic, then this can be considered the body's reaction to an intolerance.

As a good AK test - in contrast to the majority of conventional diagnostic procedures- requires contact of the substance in question with the mucous membrane (mouth or nose), an AK test can deliver more numerous and useful indications of an allergy or intolerance than the standard allergy tests.

Thus, AK is in a position to isolate incompatible substances which the patient may have been consuming for perhaps decades without so much as an inkling of the negative effects. It is also perfectly logical that simply avoiding these substances will frequently alleviate the worst and most chronic allergic conditions.

The complementation of sensible orthomolecular therapy, an effective homeopathic treatment and/or further necessary correctional measures will lead to an enduring improvement and stabilisation of the patient's health. And perhaps, after a while, the incompatible substances may again prove compatible, especially if taken perhaps only every four or five days rather than every day.

Examples:

a. In a female patient who is suffering from a shoulder-arm syndrome on the right side, the M. deltoideus is weak and painful, but immediately becomes strong and pain-free when the patient touches the spinous process of the mid-cervical vertibrae (positive TL). Subsequent to further appropriate examination the recommended therapy will be a manual treatment of the said region; following successful therapy the deltoideus will again be free of pain, strong and any aches in the shoulder-arm area will vanish completely after another two therapy sessions.

b. A mother comes to the practice with her nine year old son who is diagnosed with hyperactivity. In the course of examining him, it emerges that several strong test muscles weaken considerably upon oral contact with dairy products.

Diagnosis: intolerance to dairy products which, as a consequence, are to be strictly avoided from now on. Within a very short period his behaviour has settled down and returned to normal. An interesting point here is that conventional allergy tests comprehensively failed to come up with any assessment at all!

c. A 42-year-old female patient appears with the following complaints: chronic cramps in the shoulder/neck area, alternate diarrhoea and constipation; conventional methods have brought nothing to light.

Taking the patient's history case into consideration and with a view to the AK examination, the following test is carried out: the patient is induced to reflect upon her most pressing problems, but not to talk about it. This causes all the strong test muscles to weaken (positive emotional challenge!). The conclusion is self-evident, yet the patient is unwilling to talk about her problems.

Therefore she receives a short description of the Bach flowers to enable an initial selection of those she feels most appropriate. A vial of each is then tested, one after the other. Of the nine vials originally selected four lead to the result that in spite of dwelling on her problems all her muscles remain strong. These four Bach flowers are perscribed in a mixture. Three days later the patient calls back to say that she already feels much better and asks whether there are any other methods which can positively influence body and mind. After only a few weeks a follow-up Feldenkrais therapy restores the patient to her former healthiness.

d. A female patient with recurring infections and chronic pain in the left shoulder-arm region appears for a first examination. M. deltoideus and serratus anterior are found to be extremely weak. Reacting instantly to a small oral intake of vitamin C the pain vanishes and the muscles gain in strength. Having washed out her mouth, an immune booster is found (in this case Pascotox ) which also induces an immediate strengthening of the muscles. An individual therapy lasting three weeks eliminates the last complaints, despite the fact that for months orthopedic measures and physiotherapy had failed to have effect and numerous drugs had been administered without result.

Attention! The result of the muscle test is in itself insufficient for a proper diagnosis: as many other standard clinical tests as appropriate should be carried out. Although Goodheart himself has asserted this from the very start and today still verifies his assessments with conventional clinical examinations, unfortunately numerous imitators remain, particularly from the Touch for Health movement, who either will not or cannot meet this requirement.

Thus, frequently the result of the muscle test is correlated directly to the organ or gland function (e.g. weak teres minor => dysfunction of the thyroid gland).

Whoever works in this way has in fact misunderstood AK and is quite patently ignoring the criteria set down by the ICAK (International College of Applied Kinesiology).

AK for treating difficulties in learning, dyslexia, hyperactivity and other functional psychic and coordinative disturbances.


With AK a great number of dysfunctions, due to poor coordination or the disturbed processing of mental and physical impulses, can be successfully remedied in an often surprisingly simple manner.

In principle one applies the AK test to discover which psychic, physical or musical function influence the muscle strength and depending on the respective result then proceeds to eliminate the barriers, blocks and disturbances with the aid of such measures as cranio-sacral therapy, reflex zone treatment, coordinated exercises, orthomolecular therapy (see below), preconceived stimulation (colours, sounds, frequencies etc.), homeopathy and Bach flowers.

AK and the various offshoots such as "kinesiology", "touch for health", "edu-kinesiology", etc. are currently attaining such promising results that the future will probably see this become its widest area of endeavour!

AK in Orthomolecular Medicine

A particularly interesting field of application for AK is testing orthomolecular substances, i.e. vitamins, trace elements, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, etc..

One problem with orthomolecular medicine in practice is that as yet no standard range of values has been established, the evaluations are often time costly and expensive, and the patient's clinical status might seem to suggest several substances as possible remedies. The sum of these factors often means that it is practically impossible to decide upon a foolproof therapy.

Of course it must be remembered that AK does not claim to offer infallible solutions. Yet it does provide, along with the usual orthomolecular examination procedures, one invaluable advantage: with AK it is possible to instantly assess the body's reaction to any single substance.

Further notable advantages of AK as seen from an orthomolecular point of view are:

- Identifying incompatible medication

This is a problem area for patients with allergies or intolerances, clinical-ecological symptoms, intoxication syndromes, etc..

It is frequently the case that the patient does need the orthomolecular substance as perscribed by the doctor, just not in the administered form. In particular the pills and tablets manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry often combine the required constituent with any number of additional substances without actually having to say so. During an AK test the following situation might then occur: a weak test muscle (e.g. deltoideus) strengthens with the intake of a vitamin C tablet but, after keeping it a further 20-30 seconds in the mouth, weakens again --and other muscles besides. AK explains this phenomenon thus: with its oral receptor system the body apparantly recognizes a therapeutically positive substance (vitamin C) which leads to a strengthening of the weak test muscle.

But then the body registers the other substances contained in the tablet: these might be lactose, magnesium stearate, Macrogol 6000, talc, calcium carbonate, methacryl acid, copolymer type A, Polyvidon, dibutylphthalate, yellow wax, carnuba wax, artificial coloring E 110, 124, aromas and fragrances (additional substances in a well-known German enzyme preparation).

Which responsible therapist could conscientiously perscribe such a tablet?

- Patient compliance

Contrary to other diagnostic methods, AK provides therapeutical measures which, from the patient's point of view, have positively influenced a muscular weakness or imbalance in a way that is both visible and, perhaps most importantly, tangible.

For this reason the patient is almost certain to partake in the recommended therapy more willingly and consequently than if the medication were simply perscribed after a short talk or after laboratory tests.

Similarly, negative substances are more likely to be avoided once the patient has felt their negative effects at first hand. This aspect is of particular value when dealing with children!

- Establishing antagonistic substances and their effect on the body

Most of the substances employed in orthomolecular medicine display antagonistic characteristics.

What does this mean?
For example, many people know that calcium and magnesium oppose each other in certain ways. In fact all minerals and trace elements manifest certain mutual synergetic (i.e. supportive) and also antagonistic (i.e. opposed) relationships. Perhaps the most frequent antagonistic relationships in everyday clinical work are:

iron - copper
zinc - copper

On the one hand each patient is to be seen as an individual and on the other hand a certain patient may suffer from a simultaneous lack of copper, iron and zinc. In practice this means that the question is often posed, how, when and how often can the lacking substances be administered.

This is where AK comes in: if a patient exhibits an excess of the highly positive substance zinc, then a strong test muscle will weaken in response to the oral administration of a small amount of zinc. The weakness caused by zinc could then be counteracted with copper or, of course, iron. Thus, even with a particularly sensitive patient it is possible to re-adapt the therapy to the patient's response status every week anew.

- Perceptible associations between conditions of pain, apparant orthopedic symptoms and orthomolecular remedies

One of the most fascinating possibilities of AK is the use of pure orthomolecular substances for pain syndromes. In most cases of acute or chronic muscle pain, in the AK test the relevant muscles will respond by strengthening and becoming pain-free when substances essential for the body are placed on the tongue. It would seem that the body can actually recognize its deficiencies and as if to indicate its "gratitude" relaxes the previously so painful tension to leave a pain-free and uninhibited muscle. The precise mechanism at work is still a mystery, although it is only a matter of time until research provides a rational explanation. The actual phenomenon is extraordinary and to the patient appears nothing less than miraculous, which generally means that he or she will quite happily and regularly comply with the therapy. For the doctor or examiner the sudden pain-relief upon administering the appropriate orthomolecular substance(s) indicates just where the problem lies.

In this way pain syndromes that have consistantly and stubbornly resisted treatment or even rheumatic symptoms can be successfully remedied.

International College of Applied Kinesiology

The International College of Applied Kinesiology was founded in 1974 by a leading group of researchers around Goodheart with the aim of circulating George Goodheart's discoveries to interested practitioners. The membership of the ICAK has been growing worldwide ever since.

In order to attend to the specific interests of the various professional groups the ICAK has been split into several subsections:

ICAK-Europe is the official ICAK subsection for the whole of Europe, registered in Switzerland.

ICAK-Europe has itself several sub-organisations: Benelux, England,
Germany and Austria, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland.


International College of Applied Kinesiology e.V., ICAK-D, registered in München.


International Medical Society for Applied Kinesiology, IMAK, registered in Klagenfurt/Austria.


Instruction/Training

Instruction in classical AK is supervised by the ICAK:
The official training is carried out by licensed "Diplomates". For admission to the "Test of Clinical Competence", or "Diplomate Exam" (see below) the attendance of a Diplomate course is obligatory.

After at least 100 instruction hours a "Test of Clinical Competence" can be taken in attendance of a Diplomate. Having successfully completed this test it is possible to be accepted onto a list of recognized therapists used for recommendations. After 300 instruction hours and the publishing of two AK research studies, plus 2 years of AK practice, the examination "Diplomate ICAK" can be absolved.

Membership in ICAK-D

Membership is open for all state-approved medical professions (doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, masseurs, Heilpraktiker, psychologists) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The membership fee is DM 100,- annually, which includes access to German and international publications and the possiblity to absolve the Clinical Competence Test free of charge. Then follows approval for the address-list for patient allocation.