Sneezeology

In my slightly dyslexic mind, the first time I heard the word Kinesiology, I heard Sneezeology. The letters and the syllables are similar, just mixed up a bit. The science of Sneezeology would include stuff you’ve heard already, like the amazing velocity and distance a sneeze can travel. More in-depth studies could tell us the difference in turbulence between the center and outside perimeter of a sneeze. Maybe that age-old question could be put to rest; how many are injured each year, sneezing while their eyes are open?
My wife went to a chiropractor who used Kinesiology as a diagnostic tool. The chiropractor had Emmy hold her arm horizontal to the ground. He pushed down on top of that arm. The arm held firm. When the Chiropractor touched a ‘pressure point’ in the middle of her forehead, the outstretched arm was easily pushed down. Two of my friends had similar experiences at the Chiropractors’ office as well. I respect these people so I figured there must be something to Kinesiology and the “pressure point” theory.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Chiropractic profession. I’ve had debilitating back pain relieved quickly, several times over the years by a Chiropractor. If they could make me feel so much better in such a short time, I figured I should lend an open mind to their ‘diagnostic tool’, Kinesiology.
I had a chance to see a demonstration of that science first hand the other day. I went to a talk given by a Chiropractor, a lecture on understanding cholesterol. She also supplied scientific information regarding Fish Oils, CoQ10, Niacin, and Statin drugs.
It was interesting and informative. We learned much about nutrition and related health matters.
Our speaker explained the relevance Chiropractic adjustment had on internal organs. For instance, if your spine is misaligned, it will affect nerves going to your organs, in turn causing them to malfunction. That makes sense to me.
As a rule, Chiropractors take a more holistic approach to medicine than say, a General Practitioner. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the information the young doctor gave. From Triglycerides to Red Rice Yeast, she seemed to have a vast knowledge about her subject matter.
She performed the ‘pressure point’ technique on several people. It appeared valid. I could believe it, after all Emmy and my friends had experienced the same reaction. The pressure point stimulation seemed somehow to make their arm muscles go slack.
If the demonstration ended there, I would have walked out; satisfied that Kinesiology was a superior discipline to my own, made up science of Sneezeology.
Alas, before I could leave I stepped in a big pile of Applied Kinesiology. The Chiropractor performed another demonstration. A woman held a bottle of water against her chest with one hand, while the doctor pushed down on her other, outstretched arm. The arm wouldn’t go down because, the doctor said, the woman’s body knew the water was good for her. Then the Chiropractor told the woman to hold a sub par bottle of vitamin supplements to her chest, the outstretched arm pushed down easily. Apparently, her body knew the pills were no good. To me it smacked of voodoo.
I asked the Chiropractor to try me. Maybe I could figure out a sensible cause and effect for the water verses pill connection. I failed both the pressure point test and the ‘bad pill’ experiment. My arm did not relax and drop in either test. The doctor said I was fighting the response. I say she pushes harder when she wants someone’s arm to fall.
There are multitudes of things I don’t know, so perhaps the jury is still out; but for now, I’ll stick with Sneezeology.
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