George Goodheart

George J. Goodheart Jr., DC, the founder of applied kinesiology, passed away March 5,2008, at his home in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. He was 89 years old. A 1939 graduate of National College of Chiropractic, Dr. Goodheart practiced for 68 years, making his initial discoveries in applied kinesiology and manual muscle testing in 1964. He chaired the International College of Applied Kinesiology-USA (ICAK-USA) research committee for 32 years.

Dr. Goodheart's life was marked by achievement. A Davis Cup team finalist, his aspiring tennis career was interrupted by a call to duty in World War II, where he served in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of Major at the young age of 22. Years later, he was nominated by members of the U.S. Congress for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1980, Dr. Goodheart served on the U.S. Sports Medicine Committee of the U.S. Olympic Team at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. In doing so, he became the first doctor of chiropractic - and the first practitioner outside of the medical profession - to serve on the committee.

"Since his first classes in AK and manual muscle testing in 1964, new generations of chiropractors have come to him as a source for understanding the chiropractic concept of health," said ICAK-USA. "Dr. Goodheart was a lifetime student, as all physicians who follow in his footsteps will find it necessary to be - to consent to be used by the same set of living laws in their service to patients.His understanding of the coordination of its structure and function became a language of the nervous system expressed through the musculoskeletal system and the manual musde test (MMT).