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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied kinesiology | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_kinesiology | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:16:57.083838+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Scientific research == In 2015 the Australian Government's Department of Health published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by health insurance; applied kinesiology was one of 17 therapies evaluated for which no clear evidence of effectiveness was found. According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support the claim that applied kinesiology can diagnose or treat cancer or other illness". A review of several scientific studies of AK-specific procedures and diagnostic tests concluded: "When AK is disentangled from standard orthopedic muscle testing, the few studies evaluating unique AK procedures either refute or cannot support the validity of AK procedures as diagnostic tests. The evidence to date does not support the use of manual muscle testing for the diagnosis of organic disease or pre/subclinical conditions." Another concluded that "There is little or no scientific rationale for these methods. Results are not reproducible when subject to rigorous testing and do not correlate with clinical evidence of allergy." A double-blind study was conducted by the ALTA Foundation for Sports Medicine Research in Santa Monica, California, and published in the June 1988 Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study used three experienced AK practitioners and concluded that, "The results of this study indicated that the use of applied kinesiology to evaluate nutrient status is no more useful than random guessing." Despite more than four decades of review, RCT (randomized, controlled trials) and other evaluative methods, even invested researchers delivered the following opinion:
One shortcoming is the lack of RCTs to substantiate (or refute) the clinical utility (efficacy, effectiveness) of chiropractic interventions based on MMT findings. Also, because the etiology of a muscle weakness may be multifactorial, any RCT that employs only one mode of therapy to only one area of the body may produce outcomes that are poor due to these limitations.
== Criticism == Nearly all AK tests are subjective, relying solely on practitioner assessment of muscle response. Specifically, some studies have shown test-retest reliability, inter-tester reliability, and accuracy to have no better than chance correlations. Some skeptics have argued that there is no scientific understanding of the proposed underlying theory of a viscerosomatic relationship, and the efficacy of the modality is unestablished in some cases and doubtful in others. Skeptics have also dismissed AK as "quackery", "magical thinking", and a misinterpretation of the ideomotor effect. It has also been criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds, and characterized as pseudoscience. With only anecdotal accounts claiming to provide positive evidence for the efficacy of the practice, a review of peer-reviewed studies concluded that the "evidence to date does not support the use of [AK] for the diagnosis of organic disease or pre/subclinical conditions."
== Position statements ==
=== Allergy diagnosis === In the United States, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have both advised that applied kinesiology should not be used in the diagnosis of allergies. The European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence of the UK, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy and the Allergy Society of South Africa has also advised similarly. The World Allergy Organization does not have a formal position on applied kinesiology, but in educational materials from its Global Resources In Allergy program, it lists applied kinesiology as an unproven test and describes it as useless. In 1998, a small pilot study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience showed a correlation between applied kinesiology muscle testings and serum immunoglobulin levels for food allergies. In it, 19 of 21 (90.5%) suspected food allergies diagnosed by applied kinesiology were confirmed by serum immunoglobulin tests. A follow-up review published in 2005 in the Current Opinion of Allergy and Clinical Immunology concluded applied kinesiology had no proven basis for diagnosis.
=== American Chiropractic Association === According to the American Chiropractic Association, in 2003, applied kinesiology was the 10th most frequently used chiropractic technique in the United States, with 37.6% of chiropractors employing this method and 12.9% of patients being treated with it. They describe AK as follows:
This is an approach to chiropractic treatment in which several specific procedures may be combined. Diversified/manipulative adjusting techniques may be used with nutritional interventions, together with light massage of various points referred to as neurolymphatic and neurovascular points. Clinical decision-making is often based on testing and evaluating muscle strength.
=== Danish Chiropractic Association === According to a March 26, 1998, letter from the DKF (Dansk Kiropraktor Forening – Danish Chiropractic Association), following public complaints from patients receiving homeopathic care and/or AK instead of standard (DKF-defined) chiropractic care, the DKF has determined that applied kinesiology is not a form of chiropractic care and must not be presented to the public as such. AK and homeopathy can continue to be practiced by chiropractors as long as it is noted to be alternative and adjunctive to chiropractic care and is not performed in a chiropractic clinic. Chiropractors may not infer or imply that the Danish chiropractic profession endorses AK to be legitimate or effective, nor may the word/title chiropractic/chiropractor be used or associated with the practice of AK.
== See also == Ideomotor effect List of ineffective cancer treatments List of topics characterized as pseudoscience Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique Observer-expectancy effect Facilitated Communication
== References ==
== External links ==
=== Promotional sites === The International Journal of Applied Kinesiology and Kinesiologic Medicine
=== Skeptical evaluations === Applied Kinesiology: Muscle-Testing for "Allergies" and "Nutrient Deficiencies" by Stephen Barrett, Quackwatch Applied Kinesiology by William T. Jarvis, The National Council Against Health Fraud Applied kinesiology James Randi Educational Foundation, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural The Mischief-Making of Ideomotor Action Archived 2008-02-10 at the Wayback Machine by Ray Hyman, The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine Applied Foolishness by John Blanton, The North Texas Skeptics InteliHealth applied kinesiology article material was reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School with final editing approved by Natural Standard. Muscle Testing by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, The Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs Walker, James (1992), "Testing Muscle Testing: Applied Kinesiology", The Watchman Expositor, vol. 9, no. 7, Watchman Fellowship ministry Applied Kinesiology and Nutritional Muscle Response Testing: A Christian Perspective by Janice Lyons Applied Kinesiology By Nicholas Brewer, 2006 Applied Kinesiology Archived 2021-03-08 at the Wayback Machine by Harry Edwards, A Skeptic's Guide to the New Age