Body Wise*

*The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose or treat ANY medical condition.

Kinesiology for Performance Walking

By Bryan Baisinger

Kinesiology /ki • ne • si • ol • o • gy/ (ki-ne" se-ol´ ah-je)
Kinesiology, also known as Human Kinetics, is the science of human movement. It focuses on how the body functions and moves. The Dorland's 2007 Medical Dictionary definition includes both traditional and newer applied aspects of human kinesiology:
1) The sum of what is known regarding human motion; the study of motion of the human body.
2) A system of diagnosis based on the theory that muscle dysfunction is secondary to subclinical structural, chemical, or mental dysfunction in other parts of the body; using manual muscle testing to help identify the primary dysfunction and treating by attempting to correct the underlying state.

Kinesiology focuses on assessing human motion by palpating tissue tone, testing muscle strength, reflexes, joint range of motion, and movement patterning. Kinesiology can help walkers and other athletes understand the causes of pain, whether it comes from wrong or worn-out shoes, aberrant gait motion, muscle tone imbalance, incomplete past injury rehabilitation, or other more subtle conditions.

The following photos demonstrate orthopedic muscle testing for strength in four muscle groups important for walkers.
Glute Max (Hip Extensor Group)	Neutral Hamstring
Peroneus Tertius (Foot Everter)	Medial Hamstring
Tibilalis Posterior (Foot Inverter)	Lateral Hamstring

Walkers who want to increase their performance, maximize efficiency, and reduce injury, will gain a great deal from understanding their own, unique gait motion patterning. Having an understanding of which muscles are over-contracted, and which ones are weak, helps restore balanced motion.

When assessing problems with walking, it is important to be mindful that the biomechanics of walking start at the feet, which translates through the legs, up into the entire weight-bearing frame and torso, and all the way to the head.

In 1964 George Goodhart Jr., a chiropractor from Detroit, developed a technique he called Applied Kinesiology. It is a method of utilizing traditional orthopedic and neurological tests to assess and treat muscles that are too tight or too weak to function properly, causing many subclinical alterations in function and performance. Goodhart also developed a method he called “therapy localizing,” which identified corresponding body areas compensating for the primary site of pain, by testing a strong muscle and monitoring for the strong muscle to become weakened when contacting the related involved region.

Applied Kinesiology looks at the functioning of the entire body and detects areas of muscle contraction or weakness that negatively affect the whole mechanical system.
After more than a decade of working with Goodhart's applied kinesiology system, Alan G. Beardall, a chiropractor from Lake Grove, OR, developed and practiced a system called Clinical Kinesiology.

Beardall noticed alteration in muscle testing by placing fingers in specific positions, which he referred to as “biocomputer hand modes.” He was able to identify the muscles and tissues that were out of balance and needing correction much more quickly than by individually testing muscles throughout the entire body. Both Goodheart and Beardall directed practitioners to look at subclinical variables of structural, chemical, and mental functioning of the body as a whole to resolve conditions of pain, even when the person experiencing the pain focused on it as a single condition.

The three most common types of kinesiology available are traditional, clinical kinesiology (often sport-specific kinesiology such as volleyball kinesiology or ballet kinesiology or walking kinesiology); Applied Kinesiology as defined by Goodheart, and Clinical Kinesiology, which utilizes foundation of Applied Kinesiology and specific hand modes.

The first step to getting relief includes identifying and determining if the pain occurs because of an immediate problem, or whether pain is being generated from a remote location.

In overuse injuries common to walkers, pain may be generated from one or more remote locations. A good example of this would be someone who has one foot flatter than the other, causing inner knee pain and over-contraction on the opposite side hip and buttock muscle groups. Due to compensatory patterning, it would not be uncommon to have upper back, shoulder, and neck problems as a result. Once all the underlying subclinical features are fully corrected, a higher level of performance is gained.

Walkers often describe their newly coordinated motion as “synergy.” That’s not surprising: The word comes from the Greek word syn-ergos, which means “working together.”
In good health and physical performance, most walkers strive to have their bodies work as a whole greater than a sum of it parts. Having a kinesiology evaluation is one way to make that happen.

Bryan Baisinger, DC is a chiropractor and owner of Clearwater Clinic located in downtown Portland, OR. Baisinger is a team doctor for Portland State University athletics department. Baisinger can be reached at 503-279-0205, or visit www.clearh20.org