Muscle testing is a diagnostic tool that relies on the body’s innate intelligence. When practiced by an accomplished muscle tester it is a good way to find out what is going on in the body. This article contains the basics of how to do a muscle test.
Muscle testing is not hard to do, however it does require some skill and practice. To practice, find a willing partner, perhaps someone that would also like to learn how muscle test. For convenience, we will call the person being tested the client, and the one doing the test the practitioner.
Any muscle in the body can be used in muscle testing. The easiest muscle to learn on is the deltoid or shoulder muscle. Make sure your client’s shoulder has some strength, and is uninjured. Avoid learning on someone that is really strong as very strong people can be difficult to test.
The set up
The easiest muscle to learn on is the deltoid or shoulder muscle. There are three muscles included in the deltoid. You have to isolate the one muscle in the group that you are going to test. If the client holds their arm straight out to the side you would be testing the lateral or side deltoid. If they hold their arm straight out in front you would be testing the anterior or front deltoid. Either of these are good for learning.
The best position to learn how to muscle test is standing. Alternately, your client can lie on their back with the test arm held up overhead.
Since you only want to use one muscle to test, have your client hold their arm straight out to the side or directly out in front. If the arm is somewhere between the two possitions you will be testing both the anterior and lateral deltoid. It is very difficult to test when more than one muscle is engaged.
Also, the arm must be held straight; if there is a bend at the elbow other muscles are being recruited which makes testing difficult or impossible. If the shoulder gets tired or sore they can switch to the other arm or with the arm held out in front.
It is best to learn using your dominant arm. For this we will consider that the practitioner is right handed. Adjust if you are left handed.
The basic method
Have your client stand facing you with their left arm held horizontally and straight out to their left side. Stand in front of them with your right hand palm down on their left arm just above the wrist. Put your left hand on the client’s right shoulder to stabilize them. Keep your right hand open, if you grasp the arm you will affect the test. Instruct your client to resist when you push on their arm. They should resist, but not fight against you as you push against their arm. Start with a small amount of pressure and gradually increase until the arm starts to bend down. Since different people will be able to resist different amounts of pressure, this will show you how much you need to push to test this client
Release the pressure and test again, this time before you test say aloud, “show me a no.” The arm should go all the way down when you apply roughly the same or even less pressure as you did before. Be sure to follow through keeping the pressure steady on their arm as you push down. Repeat this time saying, ‘show me a yes.’
Be careful not to jerk down on your client’s test arm. This is a common mistake and will not produce accurate results. It could even result in an injury to the client.
This is the basic method for doing a muscle test. It takes practice to do good muscle testing so keep practicing. Try not to be too discouraged by poor results, it takes practice, and I will write soon on how to insure accurate results. I will also write about how and why muscle testing works, how to self test, some of the things you can do with muscle testing and how to test someone who is incapable of being tested for whatever reason.