Applied Kinesiology and Touch for Health

Dr. John Francis Thie

Founder of Touch for Health

Dr. Goodheart honored his former student Dr. Thie (left)

at the last Touch for Health seminar (2005)

that Dr. Thie could attend before his untimely passing.

(the 30^th anniversary of Touch for Health’s founding)

Dr. Thie was the first Chairman of the ICAKUSA

Drs. Goodheart and Thie lecturing (to chiropractors only) in 1975

     


Dr. Thie lecturing to chiropractors only,
3rd Annual ICAKUSA meeting

 

            Wedding Applied Kinesiology with his own populist sentiments, in 1970 Dr. John Thie (the first chairman of the ICAKUSA) wanted the first-aid, reflex balancing and self-help elements of applied kinesiology to be available for the general public, while Dr. Goodheart wanted to continue teaching and developing Applied Kinesiology for professionals licensed to diagnose and treat patients. Dr. Thie realized that AK could be taught as a method of self-care for all people. Dr. Goodheart challenged Dr. Thie to write a textbook on AK for the public. This policy of teaching full-scope applied kinesiology only to physicians, and the various lay-systems derived from applied kinesiology operating in parallel in their respective fields, remains to this day.

Dr. Thie’s books on Touch for Health (the reflex and self-help methods of AK) have sold in excess of 500,000 copies. “No chiropractor has ever developed a patient education program that has had the influence that Touch for Health has.” (McDowall, 2005) Touch for Health caught the attention of many laymen and other health professionals in several disciplines, and spawned national and international workshops and certification programs. It has spread some of the AK methods (particularly the TCM, reflex, and emotional methodologies) to “hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people around the globe.” (Keating, 2005)

The Touch for Health textbook for lay-people has introduced
portions of Applied Kinesiology methods to >500,000
kinesiologists around the world and millions of patients

“John Thie’s vision was to develop a lay person support group [for Applied Kinesiology]like other professions had done (American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Association, Arthritis Foundation, and so on) with the ICAK doctors providing leadership and guidance about natural health methods and the lay part of the group supporting these efforts and spreading the word to other lay people and potential patients as other professions have so successfully done.” (Schmitt, 2010)
"John Thie had the most efficient AK office in the world. Touch for Health had developed out of his desire to make AK skills more efficient.  He saw the reflex balancing of AK simple enough to educate his massage therapists into Kinesiotherapists.  He would have 3-4 of them at a time in his large adjusting room doing the basic muscle balance on the patients and informing him of the muscles that wouldn’t balance.  He would then do his work and complete the treatment.  At the same time the chairs around the 7-8 adjusting tables would be full of patients waiting their turn.  He would schedule a group of 10 patients every 30 minutes to arrive at the same time.  They had the choice of watching each other getting their adjustment and balance or waiting for him in his private office.  He catered to all needs.” (McDowall, 2005)

The importance of Traditional Chinese Medicine has been shown to countless people in the West using the Touch for Health methods (based on the bridge provided by the manual muscle test and the early AK reflex diagnostic and treatment techniques of Goodheart).

The contributions and new principles relating to AK and TCM have also been used as a springboard for other techniques and systems including Scott Walker’s Neuro-Emotional Technique, (2012) John Diamond’s Behavioral Kinesiology, (2012, 1979) Roger Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy, (2012) Gary Craig’s Emotional Freedom Techniques, (2012) and Fred Gallo and Harry Vincenzi’s Energy Tapping, (2008) among many others now established in the field of C.A.M.

 

These developments and mutual influences are extensively covered in 

Two New Applied Kinesiology textbooks 

that should be of interest to anyone who uses manual muscle testing for diagnostic information including Touch for Health practitioners,
as well as  naturopaths, osteopaths, physiotherapists, sports rehabilitation, meridian therapists, acupuncture physicians,
and massage therapists everywhere.

Touch for Health practitioners particularly will find these textbooks welcome additions to their libraries, bringing the evidence-base for their practices up-to-the-minute in the 21st century!! A thorough understanding of the material in these texts will enable the Touch for Health practitioner to more effectively handle clients and get to the basic underlying cause of a health condition. Most importantly, in the era of Evidence-Informed-Practice, possessing this information will enable you to protect the methods Dr. Thie left you to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

https://www.thegangasaspress.com/

 

2nd Editions are now available IN COLOR

AND $30 OFF:

www.TheGangasasPress.com

and

http://stores.tfhka.com/applied-kinesiology-books/

References

·        Craig G. The EFT Manual, 2nd Ed. Energy Psychology Press: Santa Rosa, CA; 2012.

·        Gallo F, Vincenzi H. Energy Tapping: How to Rapidly Eliminate Anxiety, Depression, Cravings, and More Using Energy Psychology, 2^nd Ed. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland; 2008.

·        McDowall D. Perspectives on Touch for Health. National Institute of Chiropractic Research. (Files of Joseph Keating, PhD) 2005.

·        Neuro Emotional Technique, 2012.  http://www.netmindbody.com/.

·        Schmitt WH, Jr. Personal letter; 2010.

·        Thie J. Touch for Health, 2012. http://www.touch4health.com/.

·        Thought Field Therapy, 2012. http://www.rogercallahan.com/news/.

Applied Kinesiology Research Published In The Past Year

 Two New Applied Kinesiology Textbooks (2nd Editions In Color!)

 

1)    Applied Kinesiology Essentials: The Missing Link in Healthcare significantly updates the scientific rationales and evidence-base for AK demonstrating -- in light of evidence based medicine -- the importance of the manual muscle test in physical, emotional, and nutritional diagnosis.  

2)   Applied Kinesiology: Clinical Techniques for Lower Body Dysfunctions presents a comprehensive “one-stop” textbook on the AK approach to lower body pain and dysfunction. This text provides a detailed, illustrated, and evidence-based discussion of the relationship between muscle weakness and lower body pain and dysfunction. It describes the normal anatomy and physiology as well as the most common disorders of the lower body. We believe it will be the most extensive work ever published on the manipulative approach to foot and ankle and peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes of the lower body.



 

Both of these books are available at

www.TheGangasasPress.com

 



In the past year,

 the following research has been published by the International College of Applied Kinesiology

____________________________________________

Applied Kinesiology: Distinctions in its Definition and Interpretation, 2012.

http://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/
article/S1360-8592(12)00122-2/abstract.

Conservative Chiropractic Management of Urinary Incontinence Using Applied Kinesiology: A Retrospective Case-Series Report, 2012.

http://www.journalchiromed.com/article/S1556-3707(12)00002-8/abstract

Physical causes of anxiety and sleep disorders: a case report, 2012.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314717 

A narrative review of manual muscle testing and implications for muscle testing research.

http://www.journalchiromed.com/article/S1556-3707(11)00090-3/abstract

Association of manual muscle tests and mechanical neck pain: Results from a prospective pilot study, 2011.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21419360.

Chiropractic management of a 30-year-old patient with Parsonage-Turner syndrome.

http://www.journalchiromed.com/article/S1556-3707(11)00156-8/abstract

Conservative management of post-surgical urinary incontinence in an adolescent: A case history, 2011. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21649458.

Inter-Examiner Reliability of Manual Muscle Testing of Lower Limb Muscles without the Ideomotor Effect, 2011.

http://www.chiroindex.org/?search_page=articles&action=&articleId=21711

There are now more than

55 research articles on AK methods

Indexed on PubMed,

the highest rated evidence-base in the world

Dr. Goodheart's Legacy Is Up To Us!!

  

BigPharma and the local opposition

Ask Dr. Scott – August 

From The Pueblo PULP • http://www.pueblopulp.com/2012/08/01/ask-dr-scott-august/

Ask Dr. Scott

Q: I am 65 years old and I was given a pain reliever by my doctor for my arthritis a few months ago, but this raised my blood pressure. At my next visit, I was prescribed several medicines for hypertension, which came with even more side effects and I feel even sorer than before. What can I do?

A: Prescription drugs are now marketed in every single corner of American society — from the Cartoon Network to nursing homes to the nightly news. Drug company advertisers apparently believe that Americans will swallow the panaceas offered in the six drug commercials that regularly accompany each evening’s news. Medicine ads sprout from magazines, billboards, scoreboards, racecars and more – the same places where cigarette ads of the 1960s and 1970s appeared.

Americans spent $320 billion on prescription drugs last year, more than they did on gasoline or fast food. They paid twice as much for their prescription medicine that year as they spent on either higher education or new automobiles. Americans spend more on medicines than do all the people of Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina combined.

Almost 65% of the nation now takes drugs available only by prescription. Children line up at schools to get their daily doses. Pharmacies stay open 24-hours to meet our demand. In 2010 Walgreens opened drugstores in America at the rate of one every day. Dozens of supermarkets in Colorado have added a pharmacist and prescription counter, and pharmacies are routinely built inside the megastores of the nation like Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart.

The Center for Disease Control (2011) reports that 47.9% of Americans have used at least one prescription drug in the past month; another 21.4% use three or more prescription drugs in the past month, and finally another 10.5% use five or more prescription drugs in the past month.

When considering your own use of prescription drugs:

1) Unless causes of poor health and diminished function are dealt with, drugs will fail in the long run – even if they are used sensibly.

2) If the causes of your arthritis and hypertension lie in poor nutrition and diet, then “cure” lies in better eating and nutrition.

3) If problems emerge from a lack of exercise, then the “cure” lies in daily, pleasurable physical activity.

4) In the short term it may make sense to use drugs to save lives. But they must be used sensibly, cautiously, appropriately and not haphazardly and excessively as they are now.

5) Even when used correctly as instructed, prescription medications can cause serious long-term changes to occur that can be more devastating than the disease itself. A single class of new medicines promoted to treat irregular heartbeats (Tambocor® and Enkaid®) is estimated to have killed 50,000 Americans in just a few years. That tragedy in the 1980s showed that heavily marketed medicines could kill the equivalent of an entire city the size of Castle Rock with almost no public outcry if the drugs caused a type of death that was common in the population, like cardiac arrest. Remember the anti-inflammatory Vioxx®, estimated to have caused 139,000 heart attacks in which 30-40% of these patients died? More than 50 other drugs have been considered so dangerous they have had to be pulled from pharmacy shelves in past few decades alone.

6) Each of us has the power to decide whether to maintain healthy lifestyles, and each of us can, if we wish, undertake to incorporate health-enhancing practices, rather than disease-causing ones, into our daily life.

Dr. Scott Cuthbert is a chiropractor at Chiropractic Health Center in Pueblo, Colorado, as well as the author of two textbooks and multiple research articles. PuebloChiropracticCenter.com.

George J. Goodheart, Jr. and John Diamond....and Dr. Sigmund Freud

Somatization – mind and muscles

John Diamond is a psychiatrist who, after he met Dr. Goodheart, became interested in the psychological and the psychiatric aspects of Applied Kinesiology, “as I realized it could give us instant access to the unconscious.” Just as Sigmund Freud (1900) revealed how dreams may prove to be a “royal road” to the unconscious mind, Dr. Diamond has shown how manual muscle testing during psychological questioning functions as another window to hidden motives and emotions. This is what makes Diamond’s work so congruent with psychoanalysis and applied kinesiology.

The principles of MMT developed in Applied Kinesiology were adapted by John Diamond in his book Behavioral Kinesiology, (Diamond, 2012, 1985, 1979) and form the basis of contemporary ‘energy psychology’, a popularized form of these psychosocial approaches that originated in Applied Kinesiology. Dr. Diamond has published significant amounts of theoretical and outcomes research related to the diagnosis (using the MMT) and treatment (using psychological, meridian, nutritional, homeopathic, and manual methods) of psychosocial disorders. A review of his writings and research should be made by anyone wishing to expand their knowledge in the area of psychosocial dysfunction. (Diamond, 2012, 1985, 1979)



John Diamond, MD and George J. Goodheart, Jr., DC
Founders of Behavioral and Applied Kinesiology

Dr. John Diamond was the first medical clinician-scientist in the psychological field to use and scientifically write about the meridian system’s influence on human psychological behavior and the link between the acupuncture meridians and emotions. Diamond is a psychiatrist and past president of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine, and was critical in bringing many leaders in the field of C.A.M. to Goodheart’s attention, as well as bringing Goodheart’s work to many leaders in the C.A.M. community. Diamond's pioneering concepts, together with some of the concepts developed by Goodheart in Applied Kinesiology, form the basis on which a new method of holistic psychology developed, and from his work the new field of “energy psychotherapy” emerged. (Diamond, 1985, 1979)

Dr. Goodheart said “Dr. John Diamond has been a friend and physician colleague for over thirty years. He alone deserves a Nobel Prize for his accurate observations on the acupuncture meridians and emotions.” From his initial work Dr. Diamond has spent 35 years developing methods of diagnosing and treating what he calls “The Acupuncture Emotional System”, associating the major positive and negative emotions with each meridian and thereby offering one possible pillar for psychosomatic medicine. In his view the acupuncture system is the communicating link between the emotions, the organs, and the muscles.

Dr. John Diamond demonstrates "psychological challenge" as used in AK
with his own manual muscle test

Diamond’s work also had a strong influence on the renowned osteopath Robert Fulford, D.O., with whom he corresponded. Fulford found Diamond’s book Life Energy essential, (1985) and his discussion of birth trauma were critical to Dr. Fulford's development of methods to release cranial injuries in children at birth. Diamond relates issues of fear, hate, and envy that may accompany the infant’s leaving the comfort of the womb. As a whole Diamond's work suggests that the body and the psyche progress in parallel during the developmental process, and that interventions aimed at improving the emotional-adaptive response to the birth experience and life traumas is fundamental for the patient's development and well-being.

Diamond was instrumental in the meetings between Dr. Goodheart and Dr. Willie May, and the salutary results from this interaction have been extensively published in the biomedical and chiropractic professions.

AK and craniomandibular function and dentistry

 

Diamond's philosophy of life as a healer
is an elegant guide to the life-of-the-spirit
that should be lived for physicians

In applied kinesiology and behavioral kinesiology,
the importance of the mental side of the triad of health
is never overlooked

A brief summary a few of the contributions of Dr. Diamond are as follows:

• Dr. Diamond identified the links between specific meridians and emotions.
• Dr. Diamond discovered how muscle testing of meridian, acupuncture, and alarm points could be used to identify the meridian imbalance underlying an emotional state.
• Dr. Diamond discovered how meridian imbalance may occur in layers, and how these may correspond to layers of emotions. Thus, he used muscle testing to identify the sequence of meridians that required treatment in relation to a particular emotional problem. The complexity of the human psyche was found to be reflected in the complex adaptations made by the human muscle and meridian system.
• Dr. Diamond suggested that manual muscle testing could be extended to exploring emotional truth, as well as the impact of all manner of mental stimuli upon the measurable human muscular system.
• Dr. Diamond discovered how meridians that are out of balance may be corrected by specific affirmations.
• Thus, Dr. Diamond discovered an efficient way of identifying how the meridian system is out of balance in relation to an emotional problem, fear or phobia, and how to correct this.
• Dr. Diamond also identified profound obstacles to healing, such as the “reversal of the body’s morality” (what is called “psychological reversal” in AK).”
• Diamond’s work led to profound elaborations on the use of the manual muscle test and AK approaches in the works of Roger Callahan (“Thought Field Therapy”), Gary Craig (“Emotional Freedom Techniques”), and many diverse but associated systems of treatment in the field of “energy psychology” and “kinesiology”.

Additionally, Dr. Diamond is a profound instructor on the usefulness of the arts to personal human development and healing.

His book on the poet William Blake is recommended.



“The most accurate diagnosing tool you can have is in your office -- YOUR PATIENT, with Innate intelligence the body language combined with muscle testing.” 

-- George J. Goodheart, Jr.

Selected from the

Textbooks Now Available For Sale at

 

https://www.thegangasaspress.com/:

2nd Editions  are now available
AT $30 OFF
IN COLOR!

 

Drs. George J. Goodheart, Jr. and Leon Chaitow

A practicing naturopath, osteopath, and acupuncturist in the United Kingdom (now semi-retired and writing books in Corfu), with over forty years clinical experience, Dr. Chaitow is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. (Now the official journal of the International College of Applied Kinesiology)

Dr. Chaitow was invited to lecture to the ICAK USA in Detroit, 8 months before Dr. Goodheart passing in 2008.

Leon Chaitow, 2006

            In Chaitow’s books,  Goodheart’s and applied kinesiology’s methods are also seen as precursors to a “universal manipulative approach” that Chaitow suggests will cross professional boundaries and offer the safest and most versatile methodology for the treatment of patients with acute and chronic illness.

            In at least 5 of Dr. Chaitow’s books the work of Goodheart and applied kinesiology is presented and praised.

Ø  Clinical Application of Neuromuscular Techniques, Volume 1, 2^nd Edition: The Upper Body (2008)

Ø  Naturopathic Physical Medicine (2008)

Ø  Cranial Manipulation: Theory and Practice, 2^nd Edition: Osseous and Soft Tissue Approaches (2005)

Ø  Clinical Application of Neuromuscular Techniques, Volume 2: The Lower Body (2002)

Ø  Soft-Tissue Manipulation (1988)

See three new Applied Kinesiology textbooks which bring AK into the era of Evidence-Based Medicine.

2nd Editions now available IN COLOR!

https://www.thegangasaspress.com/

Muscles and cranial function: The applied kinesiology advantage in cranial therapy

 

Nearly everyone who has done an in-depth study of natural health recognizes that the body in general is a self-correcting, self-maintaining mechanism designed to maintain or regain health. It is usually when trauma, nutritional deficiency, stress, or something else occurs to the body that it can no longer carry out this function.

Whiplash Injuries Are A Common
Source of Cranial and Cranial Muscle Injury

An excellent example of the body correcting itself is seen in the cranial-sacral primary respiratory mechanism. Normally, every time an individual chews, swallows, yawns, or takes a deep breath, the cranium receives a treatment. Almost everyone develops cranial faults at some time throughout the day. A fault may result from leaning the face on a propped-up hand while reading at a desk, from facial and cranial pressures during sleep, wearing certain types of headgear (such as a welder's helmet), or from bumps and jars. Not only do cranial faults that disturb normal nerve function develop, but there is mechanical misalignment of the skull.

The head is so important to human function that elaboration of its importance may seem unnecessary. Craniosacral, applied kinesiology, and sacro-occipital concepts and research have emerged which place dysfunction of the bones of the skull, its sutures and internal fascial structures (dura, reciprocal tension membranes, etc.), as well as the circulation of blood, lymph and the cerebral spinal fluid that passes through the brain and its open spaces, at the center of many health problems.



Leon Chaitow (2005)

Before treating any apparent cranial dysfunction, attention should be given to soft tissue changes, muscle and fascia, which could for example be impacting upon cranial suture mobility. Treatment of all the weak or hypertonic muscles that attach to the cranial and facial structures is essential prior to any attempt at treating the osseous structures themselves, including the dentition in cases of malocclusion or temporomandibular joint disorders.

Silverman (1973) recognized the mechanical misalignment factors of the skull by evaluating his own occlusion. He did this by two methods that enabled him to evaluate it at any time. First, when the teeth contact in an ideal centric occlusion, there is an audible, sharp, staccato-like sound. This can be measured objectively by a phonocardiogram, (1976) with the microphone placed on the cheek. One can feel that sharp contact when there is no malocclusion. Second, when the teeth are forcefully brought together and then very lightly tapped repeatedly, there should be a direct route to full intercuspation. When there is malocclusion, there is a very light premature contact and then the mandible slides into full intercuspation, which can be felt by a sensitive individual.

Silverman observed that upon awakening, he sometimes had a deflective prematurity which would last from several minutes to over an hour. The deviation from normal was usually corrected after eating breakfast. Further observation revealed no malocclusion when he awakened from sleeping on his back, but there was malocclusion when waking from sleeping on his stomach with his face mashed into a pillow.

Silverman continued this investigation and found several factors that could immediately return his occlusion to normal, including taking a deep breath, swallowing, chewing, and other activities of normal physiology. After recognizing the effects of sleeping positions on his occlusion, Silverman investigated other factors that might cause temporary changes in occlusion. These included forces on the face, such as that already mentioned of propping the face on hand while reading, head placed in the older type "V" dental headrest, wide excursive movements with the mandible (either laterally or wide open such as is often done in dental procedures), and forcefully blowing the nose.

Sensory abilities include proprioception and exteroception (vision, vestibular apparatus and audition), and come significantly from organs housed in the skull. In the case of the eyes and their tracking movements, applied kinesiology cranial approaches can be beneficial. These exteroceptive sensory contributions should not be underestimated and their losses should be considered in the overall management of the patient. (Cuthbert & Barras, 2009; Cuthbert & Blum, 2005)

The sphenoid bone's torsion cranial fault -- one
of the most difficult and complicated cranial
dysfunctions to diagnose and correct --
is made far easier with AK cranial challenge and treatment.

These are just some examples of how cranial faults might develop throughout the day, and how the normal physiology of chewing, swallowing, yawning, and deep inspiration can correct them. For these corrections to take place, it is necessary for normal occlusion and normal muscle action to be present prior to the temporarily created cranial fault. The corrections are obtained during swallowing, chewing, and yawning by the muscles of mastication pulling on their insertion at the levers of the cranium, which include the zygomatic and pterygoid processes. In addition, there are wide contacts of muscles, such as the temporalis, which produce a bilateral, even movement to the skull during swallowing.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSCLES FOR SELF-CORRECTING CRANIAL FUNCTION

The influence of muscles upon cranial function is very critical, and for this reason the applied kinesiology examination and treatment of the cranial-sacral mechanism excels over most other methods of diagnosis and treatment. AK examination determines the strength and/or weakness of the individual muscles that attach to the skull; the vast number of treatment approaches in AK for these disorders of specific muscles is the reason AK treatment is so effective in cases of cranial dysfunction.

The two temporalis muscles are directly connected to the temporal bones (fossa and squama), the parietals (squama), the greater wings of the sphenoid. and the posterolateral aspects of the frontal bones, crossing the coronal sutures, the sphenosquamus sutures, and the temporoparietal sutures. It is hard to imagine muscles with greater direct mechanical influence on cranial function than these thick and powerful structures.

Upledger and Veredevoogd (1983) point out that when the teeth are tightly clenched, contraction of the temporalis draws the parietal bones down. Because of the architecture of the squamous suture between the temporal bone and the parietal bone, a degree of sliding is possible is between them. Prolonged crowding of the suture (resulting from dental malocclusion, anger, tension, trauma, etc.) can lead to ischemic changes as well as pain locally and at a distance. Subsequent influences might involve the sagittal sinus and possibly CSF resorption, including dysfunction at the jugular foramen with implications for the spinal accessory nerve, thereby increasing the trapezius muscle's dysfunction, unleveling the head, affecting the vagus nerve to the digestive tract, and the stability of the cervical joints which this muscle (as well as the sternocleidomastoid, also innervated by the spinal accessory nerve) controls. Upledger and Veredevoogd (1983) report that such a scenario can lead to mild to moderate cerebral ischemia which is reversible.

Trigger points from the temporalis muscle refer to the side and the front of the head, eyebrows, behind the eye and upper teeth, as well as the TMJ. The temporalis muscle lies in the referred pain zone from myofascial trigger points of several cervical muscles, including trapezius and sternocleidomastoid, and its trigger points may be satellites of trigger points in these muscles. (Simons et al, 1998) These important muscular attachments to the head emphasize the profound influences of muscular function to the cranium.



Temporalis muscle and movement -- essential
to normalize in cases of TMD



Lateral pterygoid muscle's myofascial trigger point
and its referred pain pattern. MANY head
pains are REFERRED muscle pains.
Differentiating these two conditions
can be accurately done with AK technique.

Travell and Simons (1983) state, “The external (lateral) pterygoid muscle is frequently the key to understanding and managing TMJ dysfunction syndrome and related cranial mandibular disorders”. Upledger and Veredevoogd (1983) confirm this. “It (lateral pterygoid) is a frequent cause of recurrent cranial sacral and temporal mandibular joint problems”. The medial pterygoid can interfere with sphenoid function, with the maxilla's movement and with normal motion of the palatine bones. It is commonly involved in TMJ problems. Trigger points in this muscle (easily identified with AK testing methods) can produce restrictions in the ability to fully open the jaw, sore throat and swallowing difficulties, as well as TMJ pain. Along with other key muscles of the region, assessment and (if needed) therapeutic attention to the temporalis, lateral and medial pterygoid muscles is a pre-requisite of lasting and successful cranial sacral therapy.

Medial pterygoid treatment essential to successful
resolution of TMD

MUSCULATURE OF THE SOFT PALATE

The levator veli and tensor veli palatini muscles both attach to the auditory tube. Their primary role appears to be to open the entrance to the auditory tube in order to equalize air-pressure during swallowing. Inhibition or hypertonicity in this muscle has important clinical meaning as the auditory tube, which when open may provide an easy passageway for oro respiratory tract infections to reach the middle ear. 

Ear infections in young children and their relationship with tensor veli palatini muscle imbalance and trigger points is an area deserving of clinical research. Since these infections readily occur in young children who are in a chronic sucking state (thumbs, fingers, pacifiers, toys, nipple of the bottle or breast), the association of the tensor veli palatini seems obvious and deserves consideration. In our experience, eustachian tube dysfunction is the most common cause of otitis media and this can be the result of fixation of the temporal bone. Cuthbert and Rosner (2010) reported the successful treatment of a 6-year old girl who had painful ear aches (and antibiotic treatment) on a monthly basis since she was 4-months old.

Cranial disorders are particularly disturbing for young children
with repeated ear infections.
AK cranial treatments are effective for these infants!
(See Applied Kinesiology Meets the Health Care Needs of Children Blog Entry.
http://drscottschat.blogspot.com/2010/12/applied-kinesiology-and-health-care.html)

It is fortunate that the body has self-correcting mechanisms that are in keeping with the overall design of the body to be self-correcting and self-maintaining. Unfortunately, problems sometimes develop in which these normally corrective mechanisms produce and maintain cranial faults. If there is a prematurity artificially produced by improper equilibration of dental prostheses, the muscular forces into the skull are imbalanced and create the cranial fault rather than correcting it. The muscles of mastication can also become hypertonic on one side, causing an imbalanced pull into the cranium.

Fortunately, applied kinesiology techniques can determine when there is an imbalance of muscles or an occlusion creating cranial faults. This evaluation capability is one of the factors that has helped develop a close relationship between many chiropractors and dentists. The objective is to find the reason why the body is not a self-correcting, self-maintaining mechanism so the patient can return to health.

Therapy localization to the injured TM Joint
will produce immediate weakening in a
previously strong indicator muscle
anywhere in the body. (BELOW)



"In reviewing the literature, the subject of functional relations between voluntary muscles and dural membranes has been addressed by Becker (1983), who suggests that the voluntary muscles might act upon the dural membranes via fascial continuity, changing the tension placed upon them, thus possibly influencing CSF pressure."

-- Upledger & Vredevoogd, 1983 

One of the most influential books on cranial therapy
ever written was by Dr. David S. Walther --
Founder of the Chiropractic Health Center, PC --
in Pueblo Colorado.
 

The importance of precision in cranial treatments
cannot be over-emphasized. The number of angles
within the cranial sutures, and the intimate investment
of these angles and surfaces by the most important
nerves in the body, must be appreciated.
The AK approach to the diagnosis of
cranial problems makes the detection
of these factors available to the clinician.

 

Two new textbooks (bringing AK into the era of Evidence-Based Medicine)

are available now -- the 2nd editions of these books IN COLOR!

 

 

 

 

 

Order Today!

http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Kinesiology-Essentials-Missing-Health/dp/0988745216

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Cuthbert-Applied-Kinesiology-Dysfunctions/dp/B00RWQVJZ0/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51sDOThaxNL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR276%2C320_&refRID=1C7ZCX7VPPKF11BCXG8Z 

REFERENCES

• Becker R. In: Craniosacral Therapy. Upledger J, Vredevoogd J. Eastland Press: Seattle; 1983.
• Chaitow L. Cranial manipulation: Theory and practice, 2nd Edition. Elsevier: Edinburgh; 2005.
• Cuthbert S, Rosner A. Applied Kinesiology Management of Candidiasis and Chronic Ear Infections: A Case History. J. Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health - August 3, 2010.
• Cuthbert SC, Barras M. Developmental delay syndromes: psychometric testing before and after chiropractic treatment of 157 children. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2009 Oct;32(8):660-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Cuthbert%20SC%2C%20Barras%20M.%20Developmental%20delay%20syndromes%3A%20psychometric%20testing%20before%20and%20after%20chiropractic%20treatment%20of%20157%20children.%20.
• Cuthbert S, Blum C.

Symptomatic Arnold-Chiari malformation and cranial nerve dysfunction: a case study of applied kinesiology cranial evaluation and treatment. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2005 May;28(4):e1-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Symptomatic%20Arnold-Chiari%20malformation%20and%20cranial%20nerve%20dysfunction%3A%20a%20case%20study%20of%20applied%20kinesiology%20cranial%20evaluation%20and%20treatment.%20.

Silverman MM. Effect of Skull Distortion on Occlusal Equilibration. Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. April 1973

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