Applied Kinesiology: Distinctions in Its Definition and Interpretation

A review, published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, setting out what Applied Kinesiology is and how it is practised according to the standards of the International College of Applied Kinesiology’s Board of Examiners.

The authors describe AK as a system that uses manual muscle testing alongside standard diagnostic methods to evaluate structural, chemical and mental aspects of health, leading to conservative treatments such as joint manipulation and mobilisation, myofascial and cranial techniques, meridian work, clinical nutrition and reflex procedures. The review gives particular attention to two adjunctive procedures — challenge and therapy localization.

It is candid about the state of the evidence: the authors note that the efficacy of manual muscle testing in therapy localization and challenge had not yet been established in peer-reviewed research, list gaps in the literature and testable hypotheses, and caution that many derivatives of AK described elsewhere lack essential attributes of AK as defined in the paper. They also argue that studies critical of AK are, in many cases, of no greater validity than the supportive trials, cohort, case-control and case studies they review.