What is a Kinesiologist?
Are you interested in the field of health, and helping the body heal itself? You may want to consider a career as a kinesiologist!
Kinesiology is defined primarily as the use of muscle testing to identify imbalances in the body's structural, chemical, and emotional energy. Kinesiologists undertake years of training to be able to access the movement of energy — or what the Chinese call Chi — around the body and brain.
What does a Kinesiologist do?
Kinesiologists look for ways to improve the efficiency and performance of the human body while at work or at play by studying the factors that influence human movement. They establish the body's priority healing needs, and evaluate energy changes brought about by a broad spectrum of therapeutic procedures.
The basic premise of kinesiology is that the body has its own healing energy and is doing its best to care for itself, but sometimes needs a little help to achieve this state. Kinesiology, therefore, may be understood as a system of natural health care which combines muscle monitoring with the principles of Chinese medicine to assess energy and body function. The kinesiologist enables this process by applying a range of gentle yet powerful healing techniques to improve health, well-being and vitality.
Kinesiologists tap into energies that other modalities do not assess. They look beyond the symptoms, and do not diagnose or treat named diseases.
In fact, they do not limit themselves to dealing with ailments, since energy balancing can bring a person closer to achieving any goal of their choice, whether in sport, relationships, learning or coping with life in general. They are concerned with imbalances in the body's energy, and in this respect, have close links with the acupuncture concept of energy flow. A kinesiologist recognizes that there are flows of energy within the body that relate not only to the muscles but to every tissue and organ that go to make the body a living, feeling being.
Kinesiologists apply muscle testing to identify and correct energy blockages within the body; it is a natural feedback system which receives information via nerve pathways and the meridian system of the brain and body. This muscle feedback system gives instant access into the holistic information held by the subconscious brain. A weak muscle test can therefore be an indicator that stress is having a tellingly negative effect somewhere in the system. By accessing the bio-system via this muscle monitoring tool, kinesiologists can get quite specific and very quickly come up with the right answers.
Some job duties of a kinesiologist:
- Help individuals cope with physical injuries
- Apply various healing techniques in order to alleviate muscle ailments
- Work to manage, rehabilitate, and prevent disorders that impede movement
- Monitor patients to ensure their program produces the desired effects
- Demonstrate proper muscle movement in order to prevent injuries
- May work to improve motor learning skills in patients suffering from cerebral palsy, autism, and other motor and neurological problems
- May promote ergonomic workplace body postures and equipment selection
What is the workplace of a Kinesiologist like?
Kinesiologists can work in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, including offices, laboratories, recreation facilities, hospitals, schools, and residential facilities. They work for organizations that develop and implement fitness plans for individuals or groups in the general public.
They may also be hired by organizations involved in studying the factors of human movement. Organizations that hire kinesiologists typically include:
- Athletic companies
- Sporting equipment companies
- Rehabilitation departments
- Occupational health departments
- Sport, fitness and recreation centres
- Sports organizations and teams
- Hospitals and primary health care facilities
- Colleges and universities