Muscle stress testing is different from muscle strength testing. Muscle strength testing is checking for neurological damage or muscle damage which is usually the result of a trauma. Chiropractors use this kind of testing most commonly on patients following an automobile accident.
Muscle stress testing is a test concerning control and distraction. A muscle is found that when “stressed”, the patient has precise control over it (usually a shoulder or a leg muscle). This muscle is used to control (distract).
An area of the body is then “stressed” by putting a bit of pressure on it and the test muscle is stressed to see if the patient maintains precise control of the test muscle, then the area stressed causes a “distraction” to the test muscle.
Is the distraction from a fixed bone, a muscle in a spasm or from an organ that has its nerve supply from the area of the spine being stressed? Furthermore, there can be other stressors to the area such as: viral or other types of infection, food sensitivity or even a scar on the skin. Any combination of these could be correct. Therefore when something is found there are several possible fixes. Doctors call this variety of possible answers, “different diagnosis”.
When using muscle testing and other chiropractic analysis or diagnosis procedures, an area of the body that is in a lowered functional state can be spotted and corrected.
