Introduction

What is Kinesiology?

Kinesiology (pronounced kin-easy-ology) is a holistic system of natural health care which combines manual muscle testing with the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Like acupuncture, it works on the concept that disease results from blocked or imbalanced energy channels.

Kinesiology identifies factors which block the body's natural healing processes. These dysfunctions are rectified by attention to reflex points to stimulate lymphatic flow, circulation and energy, the use of specific body movements and nutritional support therefore helping the body to heal itself.

What is Classical Kinesiology?

Classical Kinesiology has its roots in Applied Kinesiology which was developed by a chiropractor, George Goodheart DC, in the 1960s. He became famous for being able to solve health problems that no one else could and taught these techniques to chiropractors, osteopaths, medical doctors and dentists.

How does it work?

Goodheart was intrigued to discover that there was a link between muscle response and energy circuits in the body. Each muscle has its own communication or wiring system and there is a connection between the meridians of acupuncture.

By accurate muscle testing he was able to establish where the imbalances were in the body, he was also able to evaluate the best type of treatment required in order to correct these imbalances.

What is a muscle test?

Kinesiology assessment involves testing anything from fourteen to forty two muscles. An analogy might be to think of a kinesiologist as a body electrician going round all the circuits testing them to find out which are working and which are not. The brain is in constant touch with the body via nerve pathways and acupuncture meridians and these supply information.

A muscle test involves the practitioner placing the patient's limb in a certain position in order to isolate and contract the muscle being tested. Very light pressure is applied to the limb by the practitioner. This is not a test of muscle strength it is a test of neurological function and provides useful information for the practitioner. Our bodies store information like a computer which can be accessed by Kinesiology.

Who can benefit from treatment?

Everyone - from babies to the elderly, the fit to the injured athlete and the unwell. Even for the healthy, Kinesiology can be used as a preventative measure to help maintain overall health and well being, dealing with any number of stresses, including foods, hormones, emotions, chemicals and physical ailments, before they manifest into actual illness.

Kinesiology can help those already unwell, identifying the underlying imbalances and the most appropriate way to return the patient to optimum health. In doing so, the practitioner can draw upon a variety of existing therapies, including:

What are the benefits of Kinesiology?

It can help to:

- Relieve stress, tension, aches & pains
- Identify allergies and food sensitivities
- Assess imbalances: Physical, Chemical, Emotional, Nutritional
- Strengthen the immune system
- Increase resistance to illness
- Speed up the natural healing processes

How can Kinesiology help?

What specific conditions can be helped?

Kinesiology is enormously valuable for those patients who display are variety of apparently unconnected symptoms that hinder conventional diagnosis and treatment.

Can Kinesiology help alleviate stress?

Stress is difficult to avoid and a part of modern life, affecting everyone from children to the elderly. When we are exposed to long-term stress we begin to feel fatigue, anxious and depressed.

Our nervous system is made up of the sympathetic nervous system, the day nerve which allows us to work, and the parasympathetic nervous system which renews our strength, helps to induce sleep, aiding digestion, repair and regeneration. When we are stressed the sympathetic nervous system becomes stronger and parasympathetic nervous system becomes weaker causing an imbalance.

The nervous system becomes drained and the immune system depleted making us more susceptible to immune deficiency diseases. Kinesiology can have a calming and balancing effect on the nervous system. Prevention is better than cure.