Mt Meridian

8/3/2019 Mt Meridian

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USING MUSCLE TESTING IN MERIDIAN THERAPY

by Jake Pau l F r a t k in , OM D

Originally published in t he Nort h American Journal of Orient al Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 15,

March, 19 99 .

There are certain challenges in using Japanese Meridian Therapy, including

determining t he correct sho or pat t ern, as well as choosing the best t herapeut ic points.

This can be especially dif ficult in weakened or chronic pat ients where pulse

diff erentiat ion is fuzzy or indiscernible, and in diagnosing infant s and small children.

The purpose of Meridian Therapy is obvious: t o bring t he yin and yang pulses into

balance and restore t he overall qualit y t o t hat of a healthy pulse. This should be done

wit h a minimum of needles.

THE WORK OF DR. INEON MOON. When I first started on t he path of Meridian

Therapy under Dr. Ineon Moon 23 years ago, he demonst rated the value of muscle t est ing

for det ermining excesses and def iciencies in the channels. He learned t he actual technique

from chiropractors using Applied Kinesiology (AK), who would t est a pat ient’ s arm or

leg for relat ive st rengt h. In AK, the patient, t he doctor, or a t hird party t ouches a spot on

t he body (t his is called t herapy localizat ion) and t hen test an indicator limb t o see if it

goes weak. Dr. Moon used t his technique t o make his own discoveries. He learned that if

one finger t ouched a point and the indicator muscle was weak, t his indicat ed a def iciency,

and t hat if t wo fingers t ouched (usually pat ient and pract itioner toget her), t his indicated

an excess.

Dr. Moon used t his t echnique t o show which channels were excessive and which

channels were deficient . He t hen relied on t he t raditional Five Phase relat ionships t o

bring t he channels back int o equilibrium . For example if Liver was excess and Lung was

deficient, he might tonify the wood point of the Lung, or sedate the metal point of the

Liver. Clinically, he liked t o move t he energy of a channel of excess t o a channel of

deficiency when possible. In all cases he used muscle t esting t o conf irm if his t reatment

was eff ective.



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Muscle t est ing became a frequent research t ool for Dr. Moon. For example, he would

hold diff erent colored poster paper in front of a pat ient one at a t ime to see which color

made t he pat ient’ s arm weak (red, yellow, blue, white, black). If a pat ient became

weakened with one part icular color, that indicat ed the deficient phase: red-Fire (Ht ,

PC) , yellow -Eart h ( Sp) , blue-Woo d ( Liv) , whit e-Met al ( Lu) or black-Wat er (Ki). Healso showed t hat patient s could be weak when f acing in a part icular direct ion: sout h-

Fire, west -Met al, nort h-Wat er, and east -Wood. (Eart h is at t he cent er.) This meant

t hat an inherent ly weak meridian could cause any indicat or muscle to go weak if f acing in

t he weak direct ion. This put s a damper on conventional muscle t esting knowing t hat one

out of f our directions might weakened a patient ’s response on any inquiry!

THE PROBLEM OF SWITCHING. Another of Dr. Moon’s discoveries was that of

“ swit ching” , which he t aught t o the AK pract itioners. Switching means that t he body is

giving an inaccurate muscle response because t he energy is swit ching at cert ain

acupuncture network crossing points. The cause of switching include st ress or fat igue,

exposure t o st rong electromagnetic fields such as comput ers, cert ain pharmaceut icals

(especially analgesics and t ranquilizers), and marijuana. When the body is swit ched, not

only will muscle t esting be inaccurat e, but t he t herapeutic eff ects of acupuncture will be

great ly diminished. This is why pat ient s on painkillers or marijuana have a mediocre

response t o acupunct ure.

Dr. Moon created a t est for switching: he had the patients t ouch bot h of t heir t humbs

and pinky fingers while he tested an indicator muscle. If t his weakened, it meant t hey

were swit ching. He discovered certain “dejamming” point s which, when vigorously

massaged, would reverse or eradicat e swit ching. These point s include Du 4, Du 15 , Du

20, Du 26, Ren 24, Ren 5-6, Sp 21, and then the crossing points of the limbs - TW 8,

PC 6 , Sp 6 , and GB 37 . In pract ice, it was oft en enough t o massage in a circular fashion

Du 4, Ren 5-6, and Sp 21. Du 26 and Ren 24 would also accomplish this. I recommend

t hat one do this to all pat ient s before any diagnosis or treatment.

If t he pract it ioner is swit ched (which is common due to f atigue) , he or she cannot

muscle t est accurat ely. This is a frequent reason why cert ain practit ioners get

erroneous findings. Dr. Moon encouraged practit ioners t o dejam t hemselves pr ior t o any

t esting, by rubbing Du 26 -Ren 24 , or Ren 5-6 , etc. I have found t hat f ocused

Dant ian/ Hara breathing while working prevent s swit ching, but if you f ind yourself

get t ing spacey or unfocused, it ’s a good idea to dejam yourself.



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MUSCLE TESTING YOURSELF INSTEAD OF THE PATIENT. Over the years I

have learned t o muscle t est my own fingers rather t han t he pat ient’ s arm or leg t o make

a diagnosis. I have found it dif ficult t o rely on t he muscle test ing of patient s because t hey

vary so much in strengt h. Some will weaken wit h every at t empt because t hey are weak;

ot hers will weaken because it validates t heir complaint (“ If t his is weak, I really dohave a problem” ). Or t here is t he macho man response - “ You can’t overpower me!”

There are several reasons I pref er to t est myself. Foremost , by avoiding the pitf alls

and variat ions of t esting patent s, it is ult imately fast er and more accurat e. Second, it is

diff icult t o muscle test a pat ient once needles are in place, especially if t he needles are in

t he wrist or arm. Third, I can test many point s along t he arms, legs and t orso quickly if I

only t est myself. And finally, I can do t his t echnique wit hout anyfanfare. Pat ients seldom

notice what I am doing, and if t hey do and ask, t hey readily accept my explanation t hat I

am muscle t esting my own f ingers t o det ermine excesses and deficiencies on t heir point s.

If you are already comf ort able wit h muscle t esting t he pat ient’ s arm or leg, then of

course proceed wit h your method. Remember, you are not t rying t o push t he muscle over

or win a cont est. You are feeling t he react ive strengt h of t he muscle before and aft er

therapy localizing.



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I muscle t est myself wit h O-ring test ing. O-ring test ing originated with Dr. Yoshiaki

Omura and has been promot ed by Dr. Miki Shima, but t his method required t esting t he

pat ient’ s fingers. In self O-ring t esting, I recommend t he following met hod fo r right

handed practit ioners. (Lef t handed practit ioners merely reverse t he roles of t he hands.)Make an O-ring wit h your left hand, that is, make a ring shape by t ouching your t humb

and index finger. Then hold your index finger and thumb f rom your right hand flat and

together, and place them into the circle created by the index finger and thumb of your

left hand. You want t o open t he left hand circle by slowly separat ing and spreading your

right hand index finger and t humb.

You can t rain yourself by using an AA bat t ery. Hold t he bat t ery in one of your hands

and det ermine t he minimum amount of pressure require to separate your left hand

t humb and index finger. Now put t he bat t ery down and use exactly t he same amount of

strength to separate the fingers in the same way. At this point, the fingers should not

separate. Pick up the batt ery again and confirm t he minimum amount of separat ing

pressure required t o open t he fingers. Again, let go of t he bat t ery and use t he same

amount of separat ing pressure. The fingers should not open. Do t his as a training, over

and over and over again unt il your fingers sense t he m inimum amount of pressure

required. My experience is t hat when a meridian point is weak, it acts t he same as with

t he AA batt ery. The fact t hat you t rained yourself on an AA bat t ery prepares you for

feeling, sensing and responding in t he same way t o a weakened point . This may take some

time.

DETERMINING POINTS OF DEFICIENCY OR EXCESS. Once you have mastered

your ability to O-ring muscle test and you trust this ability, you can use it to test for

imbalances on acupuncture points. The method is t o use one of your free fingers on your

right hand t o t herapy localize t he point . I use my ring f inger. If a point is deficient and

requires t reatment , one finger t ouching t hat po int will make t he O-ring go weak. A point

that is often weak on patients is Liv 8, and this is a good point to practice testing

yourself or ot hers. Of course, exact location is required, so travel around a litt le until

your f ind t he “presently alive point ” .



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Point s t hat are excess usually show on t he yang channels, part icularly St omach or

Gallbladder. To det ermine which point is involved, t ouch w it h your right hand ring

finger, and place t he ring finger from t he left hand on t op of it . This is in accordance

wit h Dr. Moon’s two finger protocol t o determine excess. If your O-ring goes weak, t hispoint is excess and needs to be drained.

Besides det ermining points f or Meridian Therapy, O-ring t esting is also effect ive for

choosing local point s in a treat ment . In headache, f or example, I always find points t hat

are deficient in t he general area of t he headache itself. Placement of needles here, in

combination with t he correct root t reat ment, will t reat t hat headache favorably. The

same can be said for local injury, which will show eit her as def iciency or excess.

USING MUSCLE TESTING IN CLINICAL PRACTICE. Muscle test ing does not

show all points that need to be treated, only those which are most seriously affected.That

is t o say, if I find a point t hat weakens t he O-ring, I must t reat t hat point . Following

t his, I evaluate the pulse for t he overall eff ect , or for ot her imbalances. Oft en, the

muscle tested points are the only ones that require treatment, even if the whole

t reatment only uses one or t wo needles.

To give an example of it successfulness, I t reated a rather nervous and neurot ic

pat ient who had many complaints: injuries from an aut o accident wit h accompanying

headache and dizziness, with a prior hist ory o f endomet riosis with severe dysmenorrhea.

She was very cont rolling and would only allow t wo or t hree needles retained fo r no more

t han five or six minut es. Despite shallow insertion ( about 1 mm) , she complained wit h

every needle. I t hought she was a professional pat ient who was deeply invest ed in keeping

her problem s. I t reated her once a week in fif t een minut e sessions for t en weeks, but I

was not conf ident t hat I would have much success with her. Although she only allowed me

t o do root t reatment , by the end of t he ten sessions she was a changed person. She was

happy, cont ent and cheerful. She report ed that her dysmenorrhea, headache and dizziness

were complet ely gone, and that her joint problems were much improved. As I have told

t his st ory before, I chalked it up t o t he miracle of Meridian Therapy. But I think equal

credit is due to the fact that muscle testing correctly diagnosed her most imbalanced

points, allowing for a focused treatment.



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The point of muscle testing is that it is a tool that you integrate into your own style

or system. You can use it t o confirm pat t erns, make point select ion, and det ermine if

t reat ment is eff ect ive. There are ot her tangible benefit s from using this t echnique. For

myself, it has gradually t rained my f inger to feel if t he point is excess or deficient, even

before muscle t esting confirms the result . Also I can diagnose young children wit houtpulse diagnosis, and be certain of my point selection f or t reatment . I have seen excellent

clinical results using t his with pediat ric cases.

MY TREATMENT PROTOCOL . I would like to describe the treatment protocol I am

current ly using. You can see that I integrat e muscle t esting and pulse diagnosis toget her.

Also, I have developed a working rout ine t hat can be applied to all pat ient s, regardless of

t heir complaint . This makes fo r an eff icient and relaxed pract ice.

FRONT SIDE TREATMENT. The pat ient is clot hed, wit h elbows, knees, and belly exposed.

1 ) I lightly brush my f ingers checking f or rough or damp skin on t he abdomen, and use

single needle pecking on t hose area.

2 ) I check Ren 12 and Ren 5-6 area, and if t hey are weak, I put in a 40mm # 3 met al

needle, with moxa on t he needle. Also I check Du 20 -22, which I t reat w it h a 40 mm

#1 needle, without moxa. About 80% of my patients need to have these points

treated.

3 ) I t hen check cert ain key channel and points, and treat t hem immediat ely if t hey show

t he need. The actual muscle test ing diagnosis is done quickly. I usually check an arm

and a leg on one side, t hen move to the other side arm and leg. When I do t his, I check

most points for deficiency; a few I t est f or excess (E). The points are:

Ht 3, 7 ; PC 3, 6 , 7; LU 5, 7 , 9.

LI 4, 5 (E for excess), 11(E); TW 4, 5; SI 1, 3, 6.

SP 1, 3, 4, 5 (E), 6, 9; LIV 1, 2(E), 3, 5, 8; KI 1, 2, 3, 6, 10.

ST 45, 4 4 ( E), 41 , 36; GB 43 (E), 41 , 40, 38 (E), 34 ; BL 67, 6 4, 62 .

Typically only one or two point s show deficiency by t his met hod, and I t reat wit h a

30 mm # 1 or #0 needle. I use qi gong t o send mind-thought and energy down the shaft of

t he needle, into t he point , and up the channel. I t ry t o extend my energy so that it reaches

DU 20, Baihui on t he patient .



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If t here are excesses, which are only occasionally, I sedate wit h a 3 0mm # 3 met al

handle needle. If a def icient point is an Eight Ext raordinary Channel point (TW 5 , GB 41 ,

Sp 4, etc.) , I will t reat it w it h a 30 mm #3 m et al needles, which I will connect wit h Ion

Pumping Cords to it s partner on the other side of t he body. I believe t hat t his circulates

t he energy in a spiral fashion.

4 ) I now look at t he pulse t o see what is st ill out of balance. Oft en, what we have done is

enough to balance t he yin and yang pulses. Occasionally a channel may appear excess

and I will look for a point on t hat channel and t reat it wit h sedation t echnique. When

t here are remaining deficiencies, I have discovered that t hey are usually paired

according t o Eight Ext ra Channel pat nerships (PC-SP, KI-LU, TW-GB, SI-BL, LI-

ST, LIV-PC) . I always t reat t hese using t heir Eight Ext ra Channel point s ( TW 5 , GB

41 , et c.) again with 30 mm # 3 met al handle needles. I connect t hem across t he body

wit h Ion Pumping Cords t o t heir partner mast er point . It is essential t hat I muscle

t est t he correct direct ion of the cords, which I do by t est ing on t he box switch. If you

are using unidirectional cords, you can hook up and muscle t est at t he needle. If

weak, t hen t he cables are t he wrong direct ion. It should become st rong when you

change t he direct ion of t he cable. If t he point s are st rong in bot h direct ions, t his

means that t he Ion Pumping Cords are not required and t hat t he pair’s equilibrium

is already correctly balanced. I have got t en very good result s by following Meridian

Therapy wit h Eight Ext ra Channel treat ment , and it seems t o be required on most all

of my patients.

5 ) This concludes t he front sided t reatment , which I leave in place for about seven

minut es. If I am using Ion Pumping Cords, aft er six or seven minut es I will go back

and see if t he Eight Ext raordinary Channel pair is st rong wit h t he cord in bot h

directions (checking the switch on the box). When both are strong, then the front

treatment is over.



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BACK SIDED TREATMENT. The pat ient is undressed down t o underwear, ly ing face down.

6 ) I lightly brush my fingers checking for rough or damp skin along t he back, scapula

and spine and use single needle pecking on t hose areas.

7 ) I t hen palpat e fo r sore int ravert ebral spaces and mark t hem wit h a pen. I will do inand out insert ion on t he adjacent Hua To point s t o t he sore spaces (whcih I learned

from Kubot a’s “ Ishizaki St yle Acupuncture” in t he March 199 7 issue of NAJOM). I

w i ll also place needles in t he Kori around TW 15 , and on all patient s I connect Ion

Pumping Cords from BL 40 t o BL 58, same side, and muscle test for correct

direct ion. This pumps and relieves congestion along t he Bladder channel of t he neck

and back. I t hen go back to t he int ervert ebral spaces t hat I have marked and see if

any are st ill sore. If so, t hey will receive 3 t o 5 small cones of moxa, or a #1

needle. Finally, I place 40 mm # 3 met al needles on cert ain Shu point s, such as

liver (BL 18 ) or kidney ( BL 23 ), and do needle moxa on t hem.

8 ) Branch t reat ment might t hen done for specific complaints, such as headache,

shoulder pain, lower back pain or hip pain.

The complete treatments take about thirty minutes. I feel they are thorough, and a

short series (two to four treatments, once weekly) is very beneficial. The front side

t reat ment is where the root imbalances are correct ed. The back t reatment reinforces t he

root , as well as relieves stagnat ions in the fascia and along t he spine. For many cases, I

will perform t he front side t reatment alone, which I schedule for fif t een minutes. I

recommend that all patients get t his t reat ment at least once a mont h even when t hey are

feeling well, as a wort hwhile prevent at ive.

Muscle t esting has t aught me several t hings about Meridian Therapy. First of all, it

seems t hat most patients have a liver deficiency requiring t reatment at Liv 8 . Secondly,

it is very common for HT 3 t o show unilaterally or bilat erally, and I will t reat t his

despit e the historic warnings against t onifying t he heart . This may mean that many of my

pat ients have a new pat t ern, a Heart patt ern, which I believe represent s blood

deficiency. This may be due to the altitude of my town (5200 feet, 1730 meters).

Thirdly, most of my patients require treatment to Du 20, Ren 12 and Ren 5-6.

indicat ing common and chronic st resses on Shen, Spleen and Kidney.



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As for t he Eight Ext rordinary Channel pat t erns, most pat ients show t hat one of the

t wo yin pat t erns is deficient . Also, if GB 41 shows, t here is almost always a hip rot at ion

showing, which I t reat as a Dai Mai-Yangwei pat t ern. I use sacral-occipit al block

t reat ment t o help here, again muscle test ing the correct locat ions of t he blocks.

In conclusion, muscle t esting allows me to work eff icient ly and eff ect ively. Time and

again, the clinical success of t his prot ocol impresses me. Pat ients recover more quickly,

and they require very few needles per session. Should you decide to use t his muscle

t esting t echnique, I encourage you to perservere in its applicat ion. Have pat ience,

pract ice constantly, and have fait h in your abilit y. It will reward you and your patient s

many times over.

JAKE PAUL FRATKIN, OMD, L.Ac. Following undergraduat e degrees in Chinese

language and philosophy at t he Universit y of Wisconsin, Dr. Fratkin t rained in Korean

and Japanese acupunct ure start ing in 19 75, and lat er, Chinese herbal medicine in

Beijing. He is in privat e pract ice in Boulder, Colorado, where he combines Japanese

Meridian Therapy, Chinese herbal medicine, and nut rit ional medicine. He is a f requent

contributor t o t his journal.

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