Kinesiology & Muscle Testing - A Brief History

1912 - Gravity Tests
The first published use of muscle monitoring against external force was written by Dr. Robert W. Lovett, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. These muscle tests were termed "gravity tests" and were used to trace spinal nerve damage. In 1932, Dr. Lovett published a muscle grading system of 5 levels of muscle strength against gravity and external pressure.

1930’s - Kinesiology as the Study of Human Movement
Throughout the 1930’s, academic studies of human movement were concerned with understanding how and why people move and the factors that limit and enhance our capacity to move.

1948 - Manual Muscle Testing
Manual muscle testing techniques were refined and published by physical therapists Kendall, Kendall and Wadsworth. Their muscle testing techniques were used in the assessment of insurance claims.

1964 - Applied Kinesiology
Chiropractor, Dr George Goodheart, observed that a muscle that tested “weak” could be returned to normal “strength” by pressing or massaging seemingly unrelated points on the body. Muscle monitoring was recognised as a means of assessing the functional status of other physiological and energy (acupuncture meridian) systems. Applied Kinesiology could only be studied by health professionals and was used as a means of confirming their “medical” diagnoses.

1973 - Touch For Health
Chiropractor, Dr John Thie, brought the power of manual muscle testing and simple energy balancing techniques to public awareness through his publication, “Touch For Health”, and a series of related workshops. Touch For Health was designed for the layperson for use in the care of family and friends.

Now
...there are many different types of kinesiology that can be studied by anyone and practiced in their own right. The different types of kinesiology include, but are not limited to, Applied Physiology (AP), Aromatic Kinesiology, Counselling Kinesiology, Neuro-Training (formerly Educating Alternatives), Edu-K (Brain Gym), Mahoney’s Hyperton–X Sports Kinesiology, Kinergetics, LEAP Kinesiology, Neural Organisation Technique (NOT), Professional Kinesiology Practice (PKP), Transformational Kinesiology, Three In One Concepts and Touch For Health.