From Biomechanics to Applied Kinesiology (AK) – a brief history of Applied Kinesiology

A traditional form of kinesiology (from the Greek ‘Kinesis’ –‘movement’) can be traced back over thousands of years and continue to the present.

The biomechanics principles of kinesiology have been successfully applied to the variety of ergonomic problems of industry, sport and medicine but it was Dr George J. Goodheart Jn. (1918-2008), an American chiropractor, that began the research using the muscle testing to directly assess the functional integrity of the nervous system and the muscles.

“Dr Goodheart explored beyond the boundaries of his formal chiropractor training to consider concepts of other innovative healers and scientists. He studied the traditional knowledge and research findings of many other healing systems:

Chinese acupuncture, lymphatic drainage, nutrition, neurology, etc, and then found the way to incorporate them into Applied Kinesiology (…) Out of his uniquely open-minded search for procedures came most of the techniques used in Applied Kinesiology today.”

(Robert Frost, Applied Kinesiology, Revised edition 2020)

In 1964, Goodheart made the discovery that marks the birth of Applied Kinesiology: he assumed that correcting structural, chemical or mental imbalances (MCPE concept) in the body will reduce or eliminate most health problems. This was one of the most important discoveries, that there is a connection between muscles, organs and the acupuncture meridian system.

Dr Goodheart began teaching the techniques of Applied Kinesiology to other chiropractors who adopted them with great enthusiasm and since then Applied Kinesiology has developed and expanded into an extraordinary wide variety of fields.