The Founder and Father of Applied Kinesiology:
Dr. George J. Goodheart

In 1964, Dr. George J. Goodheart, Jr, a chiropractic physician practicing in Detroit, Michigan made observations regarding muscle balance, muscle strength and muscle weakness that refuted the then-held theory that muscle spasm was the primary cause of back pain. This postulate led to the development of a system of diagnosis and therapeutics now known as applied kinesiology.

The first patient Goodheart diagnosed and treated was a man who was unable to push anything due to instability in his shoulder. As a result of this condition, present for fifteen years, he consistently failed pre-employment physical examinations evaluating his ability to perform labor-intensive tasks for which he was qualified. As a part of Goodheart’s examination, he asked the patient to put his hands on the wall and proceeded to test the function of the muscle that holds the shoulder blade against the rib cage (anterior serratus). The muscle failed as pressure was applied to the spine. Goodheart then palpated the muscles insertion and found tender nodules to which he applied hard, heavy digital pressure. Almost miraculously, upon completing this therapeutic effort, the patient was now able to do that which he had been unable to do for fifteen years!

With great enthusiasm for this new discovery, Goodheart began to routinely test muscles and found many that responded to vigorous stimulation of the muscles’ origin and insertion. As Goodheart’s clinical research continued, he began to observe that there were five factors or systems to consider in the evaluation of body function: the blood vascular system, the lymphatic system, the nervous system, the acupuncture system and cerebrospinal fluid flow. Dysfunction anywhere in the body may be caused by a failure of any of these systems, and muscle testing provided important clues for appropriate treatment. 

Goodheart’s seminal work has inspired tens of thousands of doctors around the world to pursue applied kinesiology as a primary diagnostic tool, helping millions of patients across the globe. He looked beyond the chiropractic profession to the fields of osteopathy, acupuncture, dentistry, nutrition, biochemistry, and others for methods to increase the health and well-being of patients based upon using the body itself as a diagnostic tool.

Dr. Goodheart had a unique way of looking at a patient´s problem and asking, “Why is that?” This allowed him to correlate many different types of examination and treatment procedures into a unified method of examining and then treating many difficult patients. He went on to write many works on applied kinesiology and lectured on the topic often. Among his many professional honors, he was the first chiropractor to serve on the U. S. Olympic Medical Team in 1980.

For more information about the early development of Applied Kinesiology, click here.

Learn more about the ICAK here!