Applied kinesiology, like many of the alternative healing arts, emphasizes prevention over intervention, and whole body health over symptom-based healing. It gives equal weight to three aspects of human health – structural, chemical, and mental. It is especially good at alleviating persistent or chronic ailments, and functional disorders.

A chiropractor in Detroit, Dr. George Goodheart, established applied kinesiology in 1964. Kinesiology literally means the study of motion. In this context, practitioners are studying the motion, function, and physiology of the muscles. The doctor ‘applies’ kinesiology by using muscle function as an indicator of problems in the body.

Dr. Goodheart noticed that there were specific relationships between the weakness of certain muscles and the health of certain systems. By learning the way muscles correlated to the rest of the body, a doctor could use the muscles for diagnosis. In addition to muscles, applied kinesiologists referred to 5 systems — the nervous, lymphatic, circulatory, cerebrospinal fluid, and acupuncture meridians – to get a complete picture. When applied kinesiology first started, scientists used x-rays and other conventional diagnostic methods to double-check kinesiologist’s results. Since then, the field has gained much more legitimacy and can be wholly relied upon to give accurate diagnoses.

Applied kinesiology is perhaps best used as a preventive tool. Skilled practitioners can read subtle signals from the body indicating a trouble spot, long before other physicians. Applied kinesiology does not attempt to replace conventional medicine’s ability to help a body in crisis. But it can prevent some crises from ever occurring.

For example, there may be an irregularity in the body’s language that indicates the very beginnings of heart disease. If you go to a cardiologist, she may not be able to detect anything, especially since you haven‘t felt any pain yet. But if you do not take preventive care, that signal could develop into a degenerative heart disease that any cardiologist could detect. By getting an early warning through applied kinesiology, you can take preventive action much sooner.

Perhaps one of the most exciting uses of applied kinesiology is being able to test the body’s reaction to a substance – whether its pills, herbs, foods, or chemicals – without the patient having to ingest it. (Please see Choosing from 3000 Herbs.) While many kinesiologists work by putting the substance on the patient’s tongue, Dr. Moon’s method requires only that you take a sniff at the substance. How can the body instantly know if something will help or harm it, simply with a sniff?

Think of it this way: how can the body differentiate coffee from orange juice, simply with a sniff? Or the taste of chocolate from grapes, the moment it touches the tongue? The body’s sensory functions are capable of the most delicate gradations and amazing speed. With muscle testing, it is no different. A substance will induce a strong or weak reaction in a muscle a moment after sniffing, telling your doctor whether your body can use it or not.

In short, applied kinesiology is a great development for doctors and patients alike. For doctors, it provides a safe, accurate, and fast way of familiarizing oneself with the complicated workings of the patient’s body. For the patient, it provides a relaxing, drug-free method of diagnosis that takes into account the whole being.