Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a clinical assessment system that evaluates the body’s functional state through manual muscle testing. This technique observes the body’s neuromuscular response to various stimuli, helping to identify physical, chemical, and emotional imbalances. These three elements form what’s known as the Triad of Health—the cornerstone of Applied Kinesiology.
Unlike other methods that focus solely on symptoms, AK aims to uncover the underlying causes of imbalance. This makes it a powerful tool for preventative care, as well as addressing chronic conditions, improving mobility, relieving persistent pain, and restoring emotional and hormonal balance.
Manual Muscle Testing
Manual muscle testing is the primary tool used in Applied Kinesiology. It involves applying controlled pressure to a specific muscle while the patient resists. The response—whether “strong” or “weak”—gives real-time insight into the state of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.
Every stimulus used in a session, acts as a question to the body, and the muscle’s response allows the practitioner to determine which areas need attention. This makes the assessment precise, personalised, and directly guided by the body itself.
Clinical Use of Applied Kinesiology
AK isn’t a therapy in itself, but rather an assessment system that helps guide practitioners toward the most appropriate interventions. These may include:
Thanks to its versatility, AK is particularly useful in cases where other treatments have failed to produce sustainable results.
In my practice, I mainly use the Systems Health Care (SHC) approach developed by Dr. Stephen Gangemi. This method prioritises the body’s needs according to a physiological hierarchy, helping to identify what the body needs first—even if it doesn’t match the most obvious symptoms.
For example, a patient may come in with shoulder pain, but muscle testing might reveal the true cause to be an old injury, an immune imbalance, or a respiratory dysfunction. SHC allows these deep-rooted issues to be addressed in a clear, structured, and effective way.
This approach is especially useful in cases of chronic pain, ongoing fatigue, hormonal imbalances, digestive problems, or symptoms with no clear cause.
I am currently the only practitioner in Europe certified in SHC
Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a technique used to evaluate the physical, mental and chemical aspects of a person’s health. Those three pillars make up the AK’s “triad of health”.
Because AK is a very broad assessment tool, the therapeutic approach an AK physician employs is in accordance with their respective speciality. As a consequence, it may encompass joint or bone adjustments and/or manipulations, myofascial therapies, organ mobilization and stimulation, meridian therapies, cranial technique, clinical nutrition, lifestyle and even psychosocial interventions and advice.
Still, the tool that all AK practitioners share is the Manual Muscle Testing (MMT), which constitutes a form of biofeedback with a sensory and a motor component, an input and an output. Put in simpler words, the MMT is a tool that allows the AK practitioners to read and interpret the body’s language. So, an AK session could be described as a conversation between your body and your practitioner. Any challenge, or input, would then be a question asked to the body, and any physical reaction, or output, would mean a yes or a no. In short, MMT is an assessment tool that provides the practitioner with real-time information of what is going on in the body of the patient via the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.
From a philosophical perspective, AK is strongly connected to chiropractic as it was founded, deepened and theorized by a chiropractor, Dr. George Goodheart Jr., as from 1964. He discovered that some therapies influenced his patients’ neuromuscular responsiveness, from impacting their strength and function to provoking dramatic changes in their symptoms. He then went on to develop the technique and integrated many elements from chiropractic, acupuncture, osteopathy, nutrition, biochemistry and other approaches into it. Beyond the diversity of its tools, AK remains a holistic approach, focused on “the triad of health” that also sits at the heart of the chiropractic paradigm. According to this vision, Chiropractic considers any health disturbance, whether functional or pathological; to originate from physical, chemical or even emotional stressors. In the course of the AK assessment and through MMT, the practitioner is able to detect the stressors affecting the patient, and to address them specifically. So what differentiated Dr. Goodheart from other practitioners? It is still the same drive that characterizes AK practice in general, to understand the “why”, investigating to find the cause of problems, which will then determine the best therapeutic step to take.
Within Applied Kinesiology, Systems Health Care (SHC) is the specific framework I use most in practice. Developed by Dr Stephen Gangemi, it enhances the already powerful AK approach by offering a systematic way to prioritise what the body needs first, rather than focusing on the most obvious or symptomatic issues.
SHC follows a physiological hierarchy, meaning we start by addressing the body’s primary needs, even if they’re not where the symptoms are most noticeable. For instance, someone may come in with shoulder pain, but through testing, we may uncover deeper issues such as an old injury, immune challenges, or even a breathing-related dysfunction. This approach allows us to identify underlying causes that may have been overlooked, particularly when previous interventions haven’t provided lasting relief.
SHC has become an essential part of how I approach care, especially with patients who have long-standing or complex health concerns. It provides a structured way to understand how different systems in the body are interconnected and to determine where support is needed first. This makes it possible to create truly personalised care that is guided by the body’s own responses, leading to more effective and lasting results.
A Tool to Understand What Your Body Needs
Applied Kinesiology offers a direct way of communicating with the body. Through a precise, respectful, and personalised evaluation, it’s possible to identify blocks, restore balance, and support deep healing.
I invite you to discover how this approach can help you regain your health at its core.
Applied Kinesiology is an assessment method that uses manual muscle testing to detect physical, chemical, and emotional imbalances in the body. It helps identify root causes of symptoms and guides tailored treatments.
Unlike techniques that only treat symptoms, AK uses neuromuscular evaluation to determine what the body truly needs to resolve the root issue. It’s a preventative and integrative approach.
It’s an assessment tool that lets practitioners read how the nervous system responds to different stimuli. It’s key for personalising treatment and understanding how the body is functioning.
AK can support relief from chronic pain, improve mobility, address hormonal, digestive, emotional, and structural imbalances, and help prevent future dysfunctions.
Yes, it’s a non-invasive and safe technique suitable for children, adults, and the elderly. It’s adaptable to individual needs.
It depends. Some feel improvements from the first session, while others—particularly those with chronic imbalances—may need a longer process.
Absolutely. By assessing the body’s response to emotional challenges, AK can identify blockages and help work through them, promoting better emotional wellbeing.
AK was developed by a chiropractor and shares the holistic perspective. Both approaches work together to restore balance from the root.
SHC is an advanced AK approach that prioritises the body’s physiological needs. It helps determine what must be treated first for long-term results.
Yes. AK is complementary and can be integrated with other medical or therapeutic approaches, provided they align with your primary healthcare provider’s recommendations.
Whereas chiropractic patients receive their care, AK patients need to take a more active part in it to witness progress and improvements. As explained in the short description of the AK system, philosophy and protocole, AK practitioners are interpreters or mediators between patients and their body. If the need expressed by the body is translated into advice by your AK practitioner, you have to be ready to implement the adequate lifestyle changes to ensure your own healing. AK raises awareness about the appropriate health behaviors required by each individual, but can not cancel perpetual bad habits out. This is the reason why AK care is first and foremost a commitment to yourself.
AK visits are like photographs taken in the same place, with the same pose, over time. While the first visit serves as a comparison point, all the next visits aim at moving away from it, as your practitioner identifies the diverse anomalies that might interfere with your health. Since the AK assessment reflects the instantaneous state of the body and mind, any deviation from a healthy diet or a repairing sleep or even a mild frustration might appear as the next priority for your practitioner to take care of.
Because they proceed from the same philosophical paradigm, chiropractic and AK both ensure a health-centered and holistic care. However, chiropractic and AK do not necessarily involve the same degree of self-commitment. Whereas chiropractic care is a rather structural care delivered to patients that present with mild physical discomfort, AK care is a deeper approach that mostly reveals the cause of long-standing symptoms, even pathology. In short, the care you choose depends upon the perception of your own health status, but also the time, energy and efforts you are willing to invest in it.
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