Jr. Its basic notion is that every organ dysfunction is accompanied by a specific muscle weakness, which enables diseases to be diagnosed through muscle-testing procedures. Most people doing it are chiropractors, but naturopaths, medical doctors, dentists, bogus nutritionists, physical therapists, massage therapists, nurse practitioners, and multilevel distributors are also involved. The prevalence among other types of practitioners is unknown. AK proponents claim that nutritional deficiencies, allergies, and other adverse reactions to foods or nutrients can be detected by having the patient chew or suck on them or by placing them on the tongue so that the patient salivates. Some practitioners advise that the test material merely be held in the patient's hand or placed on another part of the body.
Proponents also claim that testing can indicate which nutrients are deficient.
Some practitioners contend that muscle-testing can also help diagnose allergies and other adverse reactions to foods. Some have found no difference in muscle response from one substance to another, while others have found no difference between the results with test substances and with placebos. Yet another study showed that suggestion can influence the outcome of muscle-testing. Five out of nine did so. Some people who undergo AK muscle-testing report that although they resisted as hard as they could, the practitioner was still able to pull down their arm.