The Art Of Muscle Testing
Posted Mar 20, 2023 at 08:46
Posted Mar 20, 2023 at 08:46
We use muscle testing with EVERY client of ours.
Muscle testing is a technique used to assess the strength/activation of a muscle.
We know muscles move and stabilsie joints, so in order to have a fully functioning joint you must have fully functioning muscles.
Now when we are assessing muscle activation we are typically assessing the nervous system’s (Brain’s) ability to communicate and activate the muscle. Very rarely is a weak/inactive muscle an isolated muscle problem, 99% of the time it's the fault of the nervous system.
When assessing muscle activation we are not assessing whether a client can kick us through the wall, which would be strength or speed. Instead we are looking for the client to be able to activate the muscle and match our resistance in a specific direction for 2 seconds or more.
Ways in which we can tell if a muscle is inhibited (inactive) are;
If a client does any of the following a muscle is considered to be inhibited (inactive) and then the hunt for the cause/solution begins.
An inhibited or turned off muscle is a problem for multiple reasons;
The solution to this problem is 3 fold;
1) Identify the inhibited/inactive muscles
2) Find the root cause/solution for the inactive muscle within the nervous system/ brain
3) Treat said solution for 2-4 months until the nervous system has repatterned and adapted back to a normal state of function.