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Applied Kinesiology?


notacommittee

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Yesterday, I was at my chiropractor's office and he tried a method of prescribing supplements that I've never heard of before. I've been talking to him about nutrition because he's very Paleo/WAPF-friendly and he's worked miracles on my back so I wanted to see if he could help with my IBS symptoms too. He had me do a "muscle test" of different supplements where I held the supplement jar with one hand and held my other arm straight out to the side (parallel to the ground). He pressed down on my arm, to see how much pressure he had to apply to push it down. Apparently, this was supposed to check if my "energy" was compatible with the "energy" of whatever it was I was holding.

...I honestly thought it was an April Fool's Day joke until I realized it was the 3rd yesterday, not the 1st. A quick Google showed that this is apparently called applied kinesiology and the rest of the internet tends to agree with me in being totally skeptical.

Has anyone actually had good results from this? Or anything actually science-related to convince me that it's not just a Jedi mind trick? I'm very open to trying supplements if there's a chance that it might do some good (after all, I've tried a lot of stuff "because a random anonymous stranger on the internet suggested it," which is arguably an even more ridiculous reason than "because my energy was compatible with it") but I just fail to see how this method of diagnosis could yield anything useful.

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I'm more accepting of AK if I think of it as a guide instead of a method of diagnosis. I have had amazing insight from it in the right hands, for example, 15 years ago a chiropractor diagnosed my thyroid disorder using muscle testing. So I really appreciate its use, primarily in cases that can be then checked with lab work.

For things that I can't double check with a slightly less woo-woo method, I'm a little more wary.

Like dowsing- the rod might tell me where the water is, but I'm not going to start making lemonade until I dig deep enough to know for sure.

I feel like I have seen some science on it but I'm not sure if I can unearth it again. If I can I'll chime back in.

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My chiro also uses applied kinesiology to guide adjustments and recommend supplements. Personally, I think it's very effective since it helps her pinpoint what might or might not be causing a problem. I'm very skeptical but to my surprise, the supplements always seem to make a difference when used in conjunction with other lifestyle or behavior changes.

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Ditto to what Joey said! For me, some things were spot on and confirmed with my doctor (when I finally found one that would dig deeper). Some seemed a bit off and I took them with a grain of salt. I did improve, though.

Honestly, if a friend asked for input on it, I'd recommend they at least try it for a little bit, assuming the doc uses high quality supplements. You can find a lot on the internet about being skeptical about diet changes helping ailments, too, but yet here we are...

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Just think if it really worked, why wouldn't MD's place several prescription meds on you the same way to see which one would work best!!!

Believe in AK or not, there's a hole in your argument. The body needs nutrition to function properly. It does not need medicine. If you were to ask the body which prescription medicine it needs, it would likely say no thanks to all of them. No one develops disease because they are lacking a certain medicine.

I would also argue that prescribing medication by a MD is not an exact science, either. It's just more socially acceptable. In the 30 or so meds that I've been prescribed over the past 4 years - many being prescribed as scientifically as, "Try this and come back in a month to see how it went", I have narrowed them down to 2 that have actually done what they intended without causing more damage to my body. Whether or not I truly believe in AK or not, the results have been better and less harsh to nourish my body with nutrients and real foods than try to mask the symptoms with drugs.

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Believe in AK or not, there's a hole in your argument. The body needs nutrition to function properly. It does not need medicine. If you were to ask the body which prescription medicine it needs, it would likely say no thanks to all of them. No one develops disease because they are lacking a certain medicine.

I would also argue that prescribing medication by a MD is not an exact science, either. It's just more socially acceptable. In the 30 or so meds that I've been prescribed over the past 4 years - many being prescribed as scientifically as, "Try this and come back in a month to see how it went", I have narrowed them down to 2 that have actually done what they intended without causing more damage to my body. Whether or not I truly believe in AK or not, the results have been better and less harsh to nourish my body with nutrients and real foods than try to mask the symptoms with drugs.

I'm not a proponent of prescription or OTC drugs, rather I'm very anti and believe that 99% is pushed upon people by big pharma.... So sorry if my post came off that way

I'm a big believer in alternative holistic healing and have been to some Chinese herbalists ( one great others not so great) but eating real food free from chemicals, additives,hormones,etc has been the key to my recent amazing health...so I'm on board

But I have had, at the suggestion of someone I greatly respect in the nutrition field, AK tried on me and " to me" it was laughable". Felt like snake oil was being pushed on me to get me to buy their brand of "X"

And if your body were to simply " reject" all prescription meds then you would just simply go weak when they all went on you.... This conversation is ridiculous .... Because IMO .... It's all bull shit...

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Two words: bull and shit!!!

Just think if it really worked, why wouldn't MD's place several prescription meds on you the same way to see which one would work best!!!

...maybe for the same reason they don't think of suggesting low-carb diets for diabetes and prefer to hand out insulin? I'm not saying I'm pro-AK, but just because mainstream docs don't do something, doesn't mean it's bunk!

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I am sorry but holding vitamins in one hand while the "doc" pushes down on the other? Really?

This makes me sad because to me, it means you are facing medical challenges that aren't being fixed by any medicine or change in diet...so far. :)

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Whether AK is bunk or not, it sure sounds less damaging than the way doctors often use medicine to diagnose- "try this drug, and if it makes you feel better, you must have Syndrome A. If it doesn't help, we'll try you on this drug for Syndrome B and so on." Which is what doctors were doing to me until that chiropractor used Applied Kinesiology with me.

Fenderbender, I absolutely respect your argument that it is hogwash (yes, I know that's not the word you used), and I still have skepticism even though its use changed my life ("hmmm, maybe it was a lucky guess") and I have had it from not so skilled practitioners that I could not take seriously. But I stand by my opinion that it someone uses a methodology with zero possible damage or side effects to give you a suggestion that you can then verify with lab work you may not even have thought to get without that suggestion, well, yay!

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I just read Fenderbender's other comment above, and I should say I would probably be less inclined to trust something if someone was using it to sell me something. Rarely has my experience of AK been like that- usually it has been the opposite, where the practitioner using AK (chiropractor, acupuncturist, etc) actually encourages me to see their "competition" (MD, Endocrinologist, etc.).

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I haven't heard of AK used to recommend supplements, but I have heard of it as a way to learn from the body about other questions.

I have no personal experience with it, but I think there is more we don't understand about our bodies and our world than we do.

Having said that, I suggest eating real food. :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

To the original poster:

Your chiro may be good at fixing your back, but in terms of having you hold bottles and doing a manual muscle test to determine what ones you should take based on their "energy", he's a nut job. It sure as heck isn't "applied kinesiology." That is about how anatomy relates to movement. Use pubmed or google scholar to look up studies and lit reviews on supplements so you can use scientific information about what to put in your body.

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