Applied Kinesiology

As a holistic healer, I specialize in helping adults and children to naturally decrease what is physically, emotionally (energetically) or nutritionally “getting on their nerves”. As a licensed doctor in Chiropractic I am able to remove what is physically irritating your nervous system through gentle adjustments to the spinal joints. The spine is the boney armor for your nervous system which includes your spinal cord and delicate nerves. Any abnormal motion in the spinal joints can distort the vital nerve messages as the nerves pass through the spine out to the body.I am also a certified Professional Applied Kinesiologist. Many people say they are Applied Kinesiologists who are not professionally certified. There are actually very few practitioners in this area, or New York state for that matter, with this degree of certification. Check this out for yourself at http://www.icakusa.com/find-a-doctor/ and simply type in “New York”.

Applied Kinesiology or A.K for short, is simply the science of studying a muscle’s movement and properly applying those findings to determine what is affecting the body physically, emotionally, and chemically. If we literally break down the root of the term Applied Kinesiology we see the following: kinesio=movement, ology=study. For more answers check out the FAQ from the International College of Applied Kinesiology at http://www.icakusa.com/faq/. Because your brain controls your muscles, I can study your muscle’s power (that is how quickly and forcefully your muscles are able to contract) to assess how well your nervous system is functioning.To put it another way, how clearly is your brain communicating with the rest of your body.A.K. testing is NOT assessing your muscle strength (the number of muscle cells you have), which is routinely assessed in a Physical Check-up. Rather, it is testing your muscle power. In other words your muscle’s ability to correctly process the messages from your nervous system.

Applied Kinesiology muscle testing is often done while contacting a certain area on the body. This is known as Therapy Localization because it helps to determine where therapy is needed. If your muscle power temporarily diminishes (weakens) while contacting a certain area, this suggests that there may be a problem physically, emotionally or nutritionally in that particular area. Further muscle testing must be done to determine what the problem is.

Again, because your brain controls your muscles, I can study your muscle’s power to determine what may be irritating your nerves.Finding out what needs to be treated is simple-just determine which motion causes the muscle’s power to decrease and you have found the problem (at least part of the problem.

For example, say a muscle’s power decreases while contacting (therapy localizing) over your back. Now we need to determine if there could be a physical problem with the movement in the overlying muscle or the underlying bones. To do that, I simply assess the tissues in that area to see if they are moving properly. That is to say, overlying muscles would be stretched and shortened, underlying bones and joints would be moved through their normal range etc.

Additional muscle testing can be done to determine if there are any nutritional or energetic imbalances that need treatment.

I perform what is called a Functional Muscle Test. Proper Functional Muscle Testing is a fine science. And many factors have to be considered to ensure accurate and reliable results. The patient has to be in a strong starting position (with feet flat on the floor for example) so as not to give the doctor an unfair advantage. This is one of the main reasons why it is important to be assessed by a certified Professional Applied Kinesiologist. The doctor has to contact the patient with comfortable pressure because any discomfort, however little, can weaken a patient’s muscle and give a false positive. The patient needs to be well hydrated because a lack of proper water can cause a global weakening of muscles. A global fatigue or lack of muscle endurance may also be seen on repeat testing, that is, testing the muscle’s power 3-5 times in a row. The source of this particular problem varies from a lack of enough good fats in the diet to a physical problem with the movement of the spine. So what can you notice? While you are Therapy Localizing over a certain part of your body, you will notice that you are able to press harder on one side compared to the other. One side will seem easier, the other heavier or harder. Oftentimes, on the weaker side, you may notice a slight cramp or discomfort in a remote area as your body “compensates”.

For example, as you push your thigh off the table against the resistance of my hand, you may feel a slight ache in you mid or low back. You can usually see the change in exertion in my forearm muscles and neck. It typically takes several sessions for a person to become attuned with the distinct changes in their muscle power while they are contacting (therapy localizing) over a particular area.

YES! YES! YES! Functional Muscle Tests are just one tool of many that I use to get to the root of your problem. As a doctor of Chiropractic and a certified Applied Kinesiologist I am thoroughly trained to perform a number of Orthopedic, Neurologic, and Vascular tests. I can check your blood pressure and reflexes. I also have basic training on how to examine your eyes, ears, heart and lungs. If necessary, I can refer you out for specialized screening like blood work, X-Ray or MRI. I can also refer you for a Neurologic or Orthopedic consultation if indicated. If you have already seen a specialist for your problem or had advanced testing done, I will want to see those reports. This information helps to determine the safest and best treatment options for you. If I don’t think I can help you, I will refer you to someone who can!

Think of it this way….

Your brain is sending out distorted messages in Greek

But your body only understands English!

Because of the poor communication your body slows down digestion when it should speed up.

Blood pressure stays elevated when it should lower.

Muscles contract and tighten when they should relax and so on.

The treatments are designed to unscramble the nerve commands by removing whatever is physically, emotionally or nutritionally “getting on your nerves”. Each session is customized to re-educate your nervous system on how to communicate in English. Like anything that we learn, we have to hear it several times before it starts to click.

You may not see drastic changes in how you feel after the first or even the first few treatments even though your body is showing objective evidence that it is functioning better. Oftentimes, it takes more than one visit to address all the physical, emotional, and chemical issues that are irritating your nervous system and impacting how your body feels and functions. These factors will be assessed and treated at future visits.

We know this intuitively: The answer is NO…

• Tooth Decay: A person can have a cavity “in the works” long before a tooth ache begins.
• High Blood pressure: You can have this problem without the headaches or dizziness or other common symptoms.
• Cancer: Symptoms often hide for a long time

Every person’s body has a threshold for pain where their body becomes aware of symptoms. When a person’s body is truly healthy physically, nutritionally and emotionally their state of health is well above this mark. What is deceiving is that a person can “feel” fine and be just on the threshold of developing symptoms. A person on the other hand may still feel bad after a couple of treatments and be just on the threshold of having their symptoms improve. Because of this, the body will start to improve and function better before the symptoms start to disappear.

Usually, the state that you find your body in today did not happen overnight and unfortunately, in most cases, I am not going to be able to fully correct your problem overnight. The good news is that I have helped a lot of people with various hard to treat problems.

Again, your brain is sending out distorted messages in Greek but your body only understands English! Because of the poor communication your body is being negatively impacted globally.

Muscles contract and tighten when they should relax and so on. Your treatments are designed to unscramble the nerve commands by removing whatever is physically, emotionally or nutritionally “getting on your nerves”. Each session is customized to re-educate your nervous system on how to communicate in English. Like anything that we learn, we have to hear it several times before it starts to click.

Unfortunately, your brain still remembers how to speak Greek. Because this foreign language has become the “norm” for you, your brain will tend to fall back into the bad habit of speaking Greek.

How long it takes for this to happen varies but in general is impacted by the following things: age, weight, overall health, and fitness level. It is also impacted by how long the problem has been there, how severe the problem is and what results you have had with other treatments. If the problem is moderate to severe in nature and has been there for several weeks, the brain will most likely fall back into speaking Greek sooner than a person who just mildly injured themselves yesterday. Because of this, a person with a moderate problem, may need to be treated twice a week for a couple weeks versus once a week for a person with a more mild and recent injury.

This may explain why you may only see mild changes in how you feel after the first few visits.

Regardless of the problem, it takes commitment to see results. You will need to invest your time.

Whether it is learning to ride a bike or a new aerobic work-out, it takes time and regular training at home as well as in our office. Have you ever heard of someone successfully losing weight going to the gym once a month? In a similar fashion, if your sessions are too spread out…you may lose the benefits from the previous visit. That is why you may need to come in for treatments once or twice a week in the beginning.

And yes, you will need to invest your money.

How much depends on whether you are seeking true health care or simply sick care. What are your goals? Are you simply looking for holistic pain relief or do you desire to strengthen, and train your supporting muscles and ligaments? If you are patient, we can work together to get to the root of your problem. We can discover whether a neck complaint, for example, could be stemming from a remote problem in your back or leg that would require massage or adjusting; or perhaps your neck symptoms are coming from a nutritional need that may require specific supplementation or an energy/emotional block within your body that will require acupressure.

The option is yours! I am here to help and will support whatever choice you make.