Positive Health Online

Abstract

POTHMANN and colleagues, Kinderneurologisches Zentrum Oberhausen, Essen, Germany, assessed the diagnostic value of applied kinesiology (AK) in the area of food intolerance .

Background

Applied kinesiology (AK) is popular among individuals who are thought to have a nutritional intolerance. Many individuals utilize complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) due to the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment of these ailments by conventional methods. The scientific basis or validity of AK remains uncertain . The investigators sought to assess the diagnostic validity of AK by comparing it with established laboratory tests for food sensitivities .

Methodology

The study involved 315 children and adolescents (0-17 years of age) with chronic ailments such as headache, abdominal pain, eczema, hyperactivity and bronchial asthma . The participants were assessed using AK for a period of 2 years . AK diagnoses were compared with those obtained from laboratory tests such as RAST, the lactose breath hydrogen test and a specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) test (Cytolisa) .

Results

AK methods showed moderate test-retest reliability, but showed no reliability between different testers . There was no statistically significant agreement between diagnoses made by AK and those made using either RAST or Cytolisa or using the lactose breath hydrogen test .

Conclusion

The researchers concluded that AK could not, in general, be recommended for diagnosing nutritional intolerance . However, it did show high sensitivity and therefore might be valuable for providing preliminary diagnostic findings .

References

Pothmann R et al. (Evaluation of applied kinesiology in nutritional intolerance of childhood.) Forschende Komplementaermedizin und Klassische Naturheilkunde 8 (6): 336-44. Dec 2001.