Muscle Testing: Zeroing In on the Body’s Energy Flows
by Dr. Mark Goldhirsch

Natalie had been to several doctors in 2009 to find out why she had constant hives and itching on her skin. Her primary care doctor told her it was eczema and prescribed her a corticosteroid cream. After several weeks of no change in her condition, she sought out treatment from a dermatologist. He diagnosed psoriasis and prescribed yet a stronger corticosteroid cream. Two months later, after no noticeable change in her condition, she decided to travel an alternative route and came to me for a round of muscle testing.

Natalie’s story of frustration is not unique. Too often, patients find that traditional medical recommendations do not adequately address their health issues. One of the main reasons is mis-diagnosing. In the July/August 2011 issue of AARP Magazine, Marianne Genetti, executive director of In Need of Diagnosis (INOD), a Florida patient-resource organization, states “Our nation’s medical system is wonderful at crisis care but does not have a good record when it comes to diagnosis.” A perfect example is the medical condition known as Celiac disease, a condition involving sensitivity to foods containing gluten and affecting an estimated 2 million people in the United States. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that Celiac disease was once thought to be uncommon. Yet more than 95 percent of people with the disease remain undiagnosed because Celiac disease can present through a broad range of symptoms, many of which physicians do not readily associate with the disease. In addition, many of the symptoms are attributed to other diseases and conditions, ultimately leading to the wrong diagnosis.

A second reason the traditional medical approach is not always successful is because it only addresses symptoms. Have an acid stomach? Take antacids. Constipation? Take a laxative. Medicine serves to alleviate symptoms by either speeding up or slowing down processes in the body. But what if, in Natalie’s situation, the corticolsteroid cream handled her itching to the point she could tolerate it, yet the underlying cause went unrecognized? Without addressing that cause, a myriad of additional health problems might well arise.

Zeroing in
An alternative, complementary approach that helps zero in on the cause of health problems is muscle testing, a muscle feedback system designed to access the energy flow patterns within the body. I used this system with Natalie to identify the source of her skin condition. Sound weird? Far-fetched? You bet. Is it accurate? Yes. Does it involve diagnosing and naming of medical conditions? No, that is the job of medicine—to formulate a diagnosis based upon a set of symptoms. Rather, muscle testing helps reveal the energetic weaknesses in the body that often lead to a set of symptoms. By taking steps to counteract those weaknesses, a patient can often eliminate the symptoms. The degree of accuracy can be seen in the speedy results achieved by practitioners skilled in this approach.

How Muscle Testing Works
When Natalie came to see me, she was instructed to hold out her arm at approximately a 90-degree angle. I then made contact with her wrist, applied a gentle downward force, and asked her to resist my pressure. As with any client, Natalie’s response—whether her muscle responded with a “lock” (muscle remained strong) or an “unlock” (her muscle weakened)— depended on a set of variable conditions introduced simultaneously during the session by me, the practitioner.

One set of such variables are the specific contact or reflex points (acupuncture meridians, acupressure points, organ anatomy, etc.) on the body that are associated with different organs or organ systems. Let’s say we wish to test the thyroid. The practitioner contacts the individual’s thyroid reflex point with one hand while applying downward pressure with the other on the individual’s extended arm. If the muscle response is a strong lock, then the energy flow to the thyroid is present and no further action is necessary. If there is no lock, then we know that energy flow to the thyroid is sub-optimum.

Another set of variables that can be introduced by the practitioner involves particular remedies. For example, the practitioner may instruct the individual to hold a possible remedy in one hand—let’s say an iodine supplement—while the thyroid point is once again muscle tested. If the previously weak muscle response now reveals a strong lock, we have probably found a remedy that will likely help strengthen the individual’s thyroid energy. If the muscle response still tests weak other remedies can be tested in similar fashion. Conversely, we can determine if a substance is placing stress on an organ or gland, disrupting the flow of energy to it, if we muscle test that substance against the organ. For example, if sugar is a stressor to the thyroid, the thyroid reflex muscle that initially tests strong will test weak if a vial of sugar is held up against the gland.

Conclusion
Natalie, it turned out, suffered from a wheat sensitivity causing an allergic response manifesting through her skin. Her treatment included eliminating wheat from her diet and taking digestive enzymes to strengthen her digestive system. Says Natalie six weeks later, “When I came to Dr. Mark Goldhirsch, my main complaint was the constant itching and hives. Since his treatments with supplements and some diet eliminations, I can honestly say the itching has stopped, and so have the hives. I have lost 17 lbs. I sleep better and have more energy. My concentration has improved also.”

Through muscle testing we can now determine the underlying cause(s) of many diseases. Muscle testing is an accurate method for determining which organs and glands are being stressed, what substances are stressing them, and which reme-dies may help return the normal energy flow to improve the function of those organs and glands.

About the author: Dr. Mark Goldhirsch is a Natural Health Practitioner with offices in Red Hook and Lagrange. He has dedicated himself to helping people regain their health through the safe, natural methods of Nutrition Response Testing and Chiropractic. Dr. Goldhirsch can be reached at (845) 758-8861 or at (845) 473-6620. He can be contacted via e-mail at drmarkgoldhirsch@gmail.com.