Hello all, Dr Faler ND here! I came across this very exciting piece of research and thought I would share it with all of you. I use Manual Muscle Testing as a diagnostic tool and it has proven invaluable in my practice. It allows the Doctor to communicate with the nervous system of the patient directly and gather the necessary information. I am posting only the abstract as it contains the summary of 30 pages of data. If you would like to read the whole article it was published in The Journal of Chiropractic and Osteopathy and can be found on their website for free. Enjoy!
Take Care,
Philip W. Faler ND
On the reliability and validity of manual muscle testing: a literature review
Scott C Cuthbert and George J Goodheart Jr.
Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2007, 15:4 doi:10.1186/1746-1340-15-4
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Published |
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6 March 2 |
Abstract (provisional)
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
Introduction
A body of basic science and clinical research has been generated on the manual muscle test (MMT) since its first peer-reviewed publication in 1915. The aim of this report is to provide an historical overview, literature review, description, synthesis and critique of the reliability and validity of MMT in the evaluation of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.
Methods
Online resources were searched including Pubmed and CINAHL (each from inception to June 2006). The search terms manual muscle testing or manual muscle test were used. Relevant peer-reviewed studies, commentaries, and reviews were selected. The two reviewers assessed data quality independently, with selection standards based on predefined methodologic criteria. Studies of MMT were categorized by research content type: inter- and intra-examiner reliability studies, and construct, content, concurrent and predictive validity studies. Each study was reviewed in terms of its quality and contribution to knowledge regarding MMT, and its findings presented.
Results
More than 100 studies related to MMT and the applied kinesiology chiropractic technique (AK) that employs MMT in its methodology were reviewed, including studies on the clinical efficacy of MMT in the diagnosis of patients with symptomatology. With regard to analysis there is evidence for good reliability and validity in the use of MMT for patients with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction. The observational cohort studies demonstrated good external and internal validity, and the 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that were reviewed show that MMT findings were not dependent upon examiner bias.
Conclusion
The MMT employed by chiropractors, physical therapists, and neurologists was shown to be a clinically useful tool, but its ultimate scientific validation and application requires testing that employs sophisticated research models in the areas of neurophysiology, biomechanics, RCTs, and statistical analysis.
