When I was trained as an American physician, I was never exposed to the concept of muscle strength testing that is utilized as part of the pseudo-scientific field of applied kinesiology (AK). To be clear, many studies have demonstrated that AK has no diagnostic value (Kenney et al., 1998, Bernstein et al., 2008, Schwartz et al., 2014).

This blog reviews how I encountered the concept of muscle testing in the middle of my career, adapted it as a tool to introduce the power of positive self-talk in my counseling practice, and learned from personal experience about why it is completely unreliable as a diagnostic tool.

Eighteen years ago, I came across a book, “Your Body Doesn’t Lie: Unlock the Power of Your Natural Energy!” by Dr. John Diamond (1979), which described how arm muscle strength testing can be used as a diagnostic tool.

This method involves asking a person to extend their arm away from the body, parallel to the floor. The person is then instructed to resist having their arm pushed down by a clinician. Dr. Diamond claimed that arm strength is affected adversely by exposures, such as to refined sugar or other unhealthy foods, and even certain images. Dr. Diamond stated that following such exposures a person’s arm weakens, and they can no longer resist having their arm pushed down.

As an example, Dr. Diamond said that if subjects look at a portrait painting of Juan de Pareja (which was reproduced in the book) they become weak, while if they look at another reproduced painting of de Pareja drawn by a different artist they remain strong.

I found these claims to be unbelievable, but when I showed many patients these paintings from the book without telling them what to expect, they all reacted the same........

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