| INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study is to investigate important factors that affect the practice of applied kinesiology (AK) in chiropractic care. The research questions in this survey included AK practitioners’ attitude toward research, how they used the doctor-initiated, patient initiated and simultaneous muscle testing in patient care, and satisfaction with AK practice. METHODS: This study was conducted through the use of a questionnaire containing 36 questions ranging from demographic factors to factors affecting the practice of AK in chiropractic in the USA. Six hundred and eighty nine surveys were sent to the membership of the ICAK-USA (593 doctors, 96 chiropractic students). One hundred forty-seven surveys were returned to the ICAK-USA Central office. Frequency analysis, mean values, standard deviation and correlations were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 147 AK doctors (120 male, 26 female, one did not report gender) completed the questionnaire. Their ages ranged from 24 to 78 years with an average of 44.6±11.6. Years in practicing AK ranged from 1 year to 43 years with an average of 14.3±10.2 years. Doctors expressed strong satisfaction in practicing AK with an average of 6.67±0.59 (minimum of 4 and maximum 7). This was the highest rating among all the questions as 90 doctors selected 7 in the question. Using doctor initiated testing (4.30±2.33) was rated higher than patient initiated testing (3.92±2.08). Using simultaneous AK testing was rated between doctor and patient initiated testing (3.99±2.30). More doctors differentiate muscle testing styles (61.9%) than do not (32%). Most AK doctors did not use needle acupuncture in their practice but many of them use non-invasive acupuncture treatment. DISCUSSION: This information is useful for understanding AK practitioners’ opinions and common clinical practices as well as attitudes toward further research. Gender and age did not appear to influence the practice of AK by doctors. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. |
