The Origins and History of Muscle Testing

Eastern knowledge of the meridians (or lines of energy in the body) and acupuncture or acupressure points have influenced the development of muscle testing techniques and originated centuries ago. The first documentation of these theories is The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine.

The Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics (G.C.I.) in Stockholm, Sweden founded a new occupational group that became the foundation for most physiotherapy and physical therapy.

 R.W. Lovett, an orthopedic surgeon from Boston, created a process of manual muscle testing to evaluate muscle function and nerve damage in polio patients. His premise was that muscle testing could determine where nerve damage had occurred because muscles that tested “weak” were often associated with the same spinal nerve.

Two physiotherapists named Henry and Florence Kendall continued to work from Lovett’s premise and built their own model for muscle testing. They published their combined ideas in the book Muscles: Testing and Function.

A chiropractor in Detroit named George Goodheart used the information Kendall and Kendall had collected in his chiropractic offices. Through his experiences testing the client’s muscles, Dr. Goodheart found he was able to provide additional healing beyond chiropractic alignment. He discovered that some clients experienced a clearing of additional issues once he had balanced their muscles, and identified associations between chiropractic techniques and Chinese medicine. He called this new practice Applied Kinesiology.

Interest in George Goodheart’s study of Applied Kinesiology grew, as he lectured at conferences across America. He took on students and taught them his methods. These students in turn led study groups where they shared information with new students and developed their own methodology and systems for testing.

One of Dr. Goodheart’s students, Dr. John Thie, theorized that muscles tested differently depending on the stress they were under. This knowledge led to an assertion that muscular symptoms were connected to imbalances. These imbalances could be related to energy blockages, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or nutritional issues.

Another student of Dr. Goodheart, Dr. Alan Beardall, developed his own system of over 250 specific muscle tests. These specific tests were meant to isolate major muscles of the body. He also developed the concept that the subconscious mind could express itself through muscle testing with strong or weak responses correlating with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.