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What is Applied Kinesiology?

Applied Kinesiology (AK) was developed in 1964 by Dr. George Goodhart. AK is a system that allows the doctor to test areas of weakness in the body’s musculoskeletal system.

A lack of energy in the nerves that feed a muscle or in the bodies acupuncture systems can lead to muscles that are weak and do not function properly. This leads to improper movement patterns that can cause muscle and joint pain. The longer these imbalances remain, the more damage is done throughout the body.

Applied Kinesiology can also be used to test imbalances in posture, cranial sacral movement, acupuncture meridians, nutritional status and organ stress. After an imbalance is found, AK procedures allows us to find the root cause of the imbalance and how to restore the body to a state of well being.

Benefits of Applied Kinesiology

Healthcare services imageImagine your body is like a finely tuned electrical system, with your nervous system acting as the main circuit panel that powers every function. Each muscle and organ is connected to a specific circuit. When everything is working correctly, power flows uninterrupted, and you feel strong and healthy. However, various stressors—structural, chemical, or emotional—can overload this system, causing a circuit to "trip." When a circuit trips, the muscle connected to it can lose its stability and test as functionally weak. Applied Kinesiology is a system that uses manual muscle testing to act as a diagnostic tool, allowing us to systematically check your body’s entire circuit panel. It provides real-time feedback on how your nervous system is functioning. At Health Resources Chiropractic and Naturopathic Clinic, Dr. Irestone uses Applied Kinesiology not to treat a condition directly, but to gather valuable information. For our patients in Burnsville, this approach offers a deeper look "under the hood," helping to uncover the root cause of functional imbalances so we can create a more precise and effective plan to help you restore power to your entire system.

What to Expect

An Applied Kinesiology session at Health Resources Chiropractic and Naturopathic Clinic is an interactive and investigative process where you become an active participant in your own health discovery. Your appointment in our Burnsville office will begin with a thorough discussion with Dr. Irestone about your health history and current concerns. This helps us understand which rooms in your "house" seem to have the power out. Following this conversation, the muscle testing will begin. You will be asked to hold a specific limb, such as an arm or leg, in a certain position. Dr. Irestone will then apply gentle, steady pressure to that limb while instructing you to resist. The goal is not to overpower you but to assess the integrity of the "circuit" and how the muscle "locks" in place. A muscle that holds strong indicates a clear, functioning circuit. A muscle that feels unstable or weakens under gentle pressure suggests that its circuit has been tripped or is overloaded. Dr. Irestone will then explore what might be causing the circuit to trip by introducing different variables, such as touching a specific reflex point or considering a nutritional or emotional factor. The immediate change in muscle response provides valuable clues that help to build a complete picture of your functional health.

Symptoms Treated

When a circuit in your body’s control panel trips, the resulting "power outage" can manifest in a wide variety of symptoms. These issues are often the end result of an underlying functional problem that has gone unaddressed. The true value of Applied Kinesiology is its ability to look beyond the symptom and ask a more fundamental question: which circuit has been overloaded, and why? At Health Resources Chiropractic and Naturopathic Clinic, we utilize the insights from Applied Kinesiology to better understand the complex web of factors influencing the health of our Burnsville patients. This approach helps us investigate the functional relationships between different parts of the body. Applied Kinesiology is an assessment tool that may help provide insight into functional imbalances related to:
  • Structural and Postural Issues: This is like a fault in the house's foundation causing a circuit to trip. Chronic joint pain, persistent muscle tightness, or postural imbalances could be linked to specific muscle circuits being functionally offline.
  • Potential Chemical or Nutritional Stressors: Like a power surge from an external source, certain foods or environmental substances can overload your system. Muscle testing can be used to observe how the body's circuits respond to various nutritional factors.
  • Emotional Stress Patterns: Unresolved emotional stress can act as a constant drain on the main power supply, weakening multiple circuits throughout the body and contributing to issues like fatigue or tension.
  • Visceral or Organ-Related Imbalances: Each organ system is tied to specific circuits. A functional imbalance in an organ's circuit may be identified through related muscle weakness.

Benefits

The core benefit of Applied Kinesiology is the profound level of personalized insight it can provide. It’s like having a detailed schematic of your body’s unique wiring, showing exactly where the functional faults are occurring. This information is invaluable for creating a truly customized care plan that addresses the root cause of your health challenges, rather than just chasing symptoms. For patients at Health Resources Chiropractic and Naturopathic Clinic, this means we can move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and deliver care that is precisely targeted to what your body is telling us it needs. This leads to a more efficient and effective path toward better health and allows you to feel more empowered and involved in your own healing process. The insights gained from an Applied Kinesiology assessment may offer several key benefits:
  • Uncovering Hidden Imbalances: It can help identify the underlying source of a problem, which may be different from where you are actually feeling the symptom.
  • A Holistic, Whole-Body View: The process inherently acknowledges the interconnectedness of your body’s structural, chemical, and emotional health, providing a truly holistic perspective.
  • Prioritization of Care: The feedback from muscle testing can help us determine which issue to address first to achieve the greatest positive impact on your overall system.
  • Increased Confidence in Your Treatment Plan: When you can feel the changes in your own muscle responses during the assessment, it provides tangible evidence and a deeper understanding of your body’s needs and the care you are receiving.