Alan Beardall, D.C. and Clinical Kinesiology

For those of us in the field of Chiropractic that had our first introduction into the realm of "body language" as pioneered and painstakingly researched by the genius George Goodheart, D.C., the inevitable progression was to undertake Applied Kinesiology's culmination in what Alan Beardall, D.C., termed "Clinical Kinesiology." (It is noteworthy to mention that this "culmination" that I speak of is in my opinion as a health-care practitioner of this work for 25 years; other practitioners may dissent.) Dr. Beardall repeatedly acknowledged his mentor and predecessor, Dr. George Goodheart, as the "founder, researcher, and developer of Applied Kinesiology", hence no discussion would be fair, balanced, and complete without extolling Dr. Goodheart's lifetime accomplishments and achievements in the realm of chiropractic research and holistic healing. Having said this, I personally believe that Alan Beardall was what I would personally term truly the chiropractic profession's equivalent of Albert Einstein...he was quite literally that brilliant and genius, and that as of this writing, some 23 years after his tragic premature accidental death, many of us are still only viewing his tail lights: he was in fact, that far ahead of the field in his endeavor to understand and accurately interpret the human being and the various disorders that resulted in human affliction and disease. As Dr. Beardall once stated, "The doctor of the future will accept his ultimate role as a biocomputer diagnostician." I personally like to couple Dr. Beardall's statement with the prophecy of Thomas Alva Edison made over 100 years ago when Edison stated,“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” As plainly and simply as I can state this folks, the future is NOW! and the doctor of today that fulfills each of these independent prophecies is one who operates within the realm of chiropractic (thus operating within the umbrella of state licensure scope of practice statutes) and who utilizes Clinical Kinesiology as part of, if not all of, the patient's diagnostic and therapeutic work-up. This is obviously not a dismissal of modern day medicine, replete with its own quite literally miraculous advancements within the last 50 plus years, BUT... we must bear in mind that for all of medicine's modern day accomplishments that are too numerous to mention at this juncture, it continues to fail miserably at addressing what is currently referenced to as "functional illness", and its victims are better known in my circles as "the walking wounded." So, without further adieu, let's move on to some of the highlights that aptly give a brief summary of the history and development of Clinical Kinesiology. Clinical Kinesiology (CK) Alan Beardall, DC, developed Clinical Kinesiology from Applied Kinesiology in order to resolve his frustration over identifying which technique was the optimum approach for the specific person and their symptom picture at that time. Over the years, hundreds of AK techniques were developed most of which provided extraordinary benefit when used for the correct condition at the appropriate time. The problem was knowing when to use which technique. It was often hit or miss. This situation was complicated by the fact that the presenting complaint or symptom most probably would not be the causal factor but rather just the conscious complaint resulting from a long cascading sequence of events and circumstances from a cause that might have happened quite some time previously and been subsequently adapted to and forgotten by the body. Dr. Beardall discovered a method to develop a dialogue with the patient’s subconscious. It allowed the body to unwind the adaptive patterns to disclose the causal factors needing treatment. This method also reveals which techniques and protocols to use in which order, what supportive therapies from other parts of the Triad of Health were needed, when the various treatments were completed correctly, and when the session was complete. This discovery was quite serendipitous. During a treatment session, Beardall had found a weak muscle and turned around to document his finding. When he retested for confirmation the muscle was strong without any intervention. While attempting to resolve how this could have happened, Beardall noticed that the patient had several fingers touching. Retesting with the hand opened resulted in the original weak muscle. Fingers touching equaled strong muscle; hand open equaled weak muscle. This simple serendipitous discovery led to the development of hundreds of mudras or hand modes and protocols to clarify and evaluate the body’s problems and optimum solutions. In order to understand this "body language," Dr. Beardall developed the Biocomputer Model described below. Electronic Computers and "The Biocomputer Model" Clinical observations led Dr. Alan Beardall to conclude that the human being functions as a very extensive biocomputer. "The Biocomputer Model" of the human body has as its underlying premise that at the most fundamental level the body operates on a day-to-day basis on the same basic principles as the electronic computer -- it is binary in nature and operates according to the instructions of a program whose function is survival. The basic operation of an electronic computer is to accept data from the operator, perform operations on that data per the instructions of its controlling program, and to report the results to the operator. Similarly, the basic function of the Biocomputer is to accept input data from all the systems and senses of the body and to perform operations on that data per the instructions of its controlling program. The controlling program evaluates all data for its impact on the survival of the organism and develops the necessary strategy to optimize its ability to survive. Finally, the results are reported to the various systems of the body so the necessary actions can be implemented. At first glance, it is obvious that a human being is not exactly like an electronic computer. A person is alive, guided by his innate intelligence - his spark of spirit. The body is definitely more complicated and more sophisticated than a computer could ever be. It does not just confine itself to the directions of a program but continuously changes, adapting to the ever-shifting stimuli from its environment. However, since many of the body’s functions do have similarities to an electronic computer, we can use our understanding of an electronic computer to derive insights into how the body responds in certain situations. As the analogy becomes more complete based on clinical findings, the ability to predict someone’s reaction to environmental changes or applied therapies becomes more accurate. "The Biocomputer Model" essentially provides a method to learn the body's language and to develop a dialogue that allows accurate diagnosis of causal factors and accurate prediction of body response to applied therapies. As Dr. Beardall writes in "Clinical Kinesiology: Instruction Manual", in order for optimal tissue repair to occur on a cellular level, ALL essential components that are necessary must be available in "sufficient" quantity in the tissues...in other words, an insufficient quantity of any of a literal myriad of factors will result in either delayed tissue repair (ie, slow healing), incomplete or partial tissue repair (ie, weakened tissue at the damage site), or the most grievous situation which occurs when the damaged tissue undergoes degenerative and ultimately disintegrative stages (ie, cellular death). More to follow, especially in regards to some of the other "giants" in this realm whom I have been privileged to study under, and in some cases be mentored by. What has been discussed thus far might be viewed as the "tip of the iceberg." The next genius on deck, and whom we are still blessed beyond words to have with us is Dr. Walter H. Schmitt, affectionately known in the community of Applied Kinesiology (AK) as "Wally." Dr. Schmitt has researched both scientifically and clinically the neurological basis of Applied Kinesiology, thus providing the chiropractic profession with the "scientification" and credibility that wholly substantiates the basis of the diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes that we observe and enjoy as both clinicians and patients. He became the first Doctor of Chiropractic to achieve diplomate status with both the International College of Applied Kinesiology, where he earned his Diplomate in Applied Kinesiology (DIBAK), and the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies, where he earned diplomate status in the Clinical Neuroscience Program(DABCN). As stated previously, a doctor of this caliber would be considered an asset and a blessing to whatever profession that he was a member of, so how very fortunate are we as chiropractors to have the privilege of calling him one of our own!