Based on the concept of internal energy fundamental to traditional Chinese medicine, muscle testing is a noninvasive way of evaluating the body’s imbalances and assessing its needs. It involves testing the body’s responses to provide information on energy blockages, the functioning of the organs, nutritional deficiencies, and food sensitivities, among other things. It can also be used to test the body’s responses to herbs and other remedies.
Muscle testing is often referred to as applied kinesiology, although the two are not the same. Applied kinesiology originated with the work of Dr. George Goodheart, a chiropractor, in the sixties, based on earlier work by others. By contrast, “muscle testing” often refers to a technique of testing points on the body to ascertain particular vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Donald Lepore, a naturopathic doctor, explains some of this in The Ultimate Healing System. It’s also possible to learn a simple technique for self-testing.