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International Kinesiology College Research Priorities,

Submitted by Matthew Thie, IKC Director, Public Relations & Research

John F. Thie, DC, Founder of Touch for Health® (TFH), felt strongly that documented research is necessary to create the evidence base which will allow greater adoption of Muscle Testing and Energy Balancing, and therefore greater public access to these powerful techniques. Supporting Research into the benefits of Touch for Health is part of the mission of the International Kinesiology College.
The International Kinesiology College sets aside a percentage of income for the purpose of Research.
Seed money was provided to create an internet gateway using eTouch, the electronic TFH computer program to gather data on many sessions via the internet. The software was developed and the Gateway was launched, and Dr. Thiewas able to upload some of his workshop sessions before his death in 2005. This project is ongoing, and it is now called the JFT Memorial Research Project.

IKC Research Priorities:

  1. Gather and Post Available Literature on the Practice, Theory, and Experiences of people using TFH specifically & Energy based Kinesiologies or other modalities. This would be articles, books, Journals/magazines, websites, weblogs etc. which people can access to educate themselves, about the benefits and explanations of this work.
  2. Descriptions of the TFH/ Kinesiology techniques, Their history, sources, general expected outcomes and rationale/ theory for their effeciveness.
  3. Resources for understanding Research Models and the most appropriate research methods and designs for TFH/K. Is the “RCT” (Randomized Controlled Trial) the most appropriate model for research into the benefits of Holistic, educational approaches such as Touch for Health? Or do we need to find appropriate research models that encompass “TLC” (Tender Loving Care) as part of the process- a holistic model of studies to match a holistic model of work.

    The journal Advances in Mind-Body Medicine – Winter 2001 devoted the entire issue to “The state of the science: The best evidence for the involvement of thoughts and feelings in physical health.” The editor picked 25 of the top researchers in this field and asked them to pick the best study that gave evidence. It is a very interesting set of articles and demonstrates the variety of research methods are available.

    Alternative Research Possibilities:
    Outcome Studies/ “Black Box” Holistic studies
    Anecdotal Reports/ Case Studies
    Meta-Studies comparing, for example, the correlation between “scientifically significant” biostatistical measures and both Quality of life/ patient Satisfaction AND pathology/ longevity/mortality (e.g. It has been shown that so-call scientific markers are lesser predictors of health or longevity than is THE CLIENT’S OWN ATTITUDE/ beliefs about their future health)
  4. Existing published Research in TFH/Kinesiology, and resources for exploring published Research in areas related to TFH/Kinesiology such as Chiropractic(Applied Kinesiology), Traditional Chinese
    Medicine/ Acupuncture, Massage, Positive Psychology/ Somatic Psychology and Mind/Body Medicine.
  5. Existing Ongoing Research Projects– Such as the JFT Memorial Research Project, Descriptive studies of the extent and variety of “Kinesiologies” practiced worldwide, Thesis studies at various Universities, etc.
  6. John Thie was also the Founding Chairman of the International College of Applied Kinesiology, and advocated research as part of the ICAK mission. Over the last 35 years, many studies have been done, which are summarized in the Compendium of AK Research. The ICAK continues to increase its research activities and seeks the support of the entire field of Kinesiology, Energy Kinesiology and Specialized Kinesiology to finance their ongoing and increasingly visible research work. Dr. Thie also served on the advisory board for the Journal of Applied Kinesiology and Kinesiologic Medicine, which has published many useful articles.

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