Study of Muscles & Movement: Kinesiology & Its Foundations - Essay Sample

Introduction

Kinesiology is applied in a lot of fields such as athletic training, physical therapy, physical medicine, orthopedics, as well as physical education. Within all these fields, it is described as the study of movements within the body. As such, it gets construed as the study of how muscles coordinate and act within the body. Kinesiology is based on three principal foundations, which include anatomy, physiology, and mechanics. More into detail, it involves explicitly neuromuscular physiology, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal anatomy. The study of these three foundations forms the basis of studying movements within the body. The paper is, however, premised on a more detailed analysis of kinesiology to discuss how it works, its scope of practice, among many other insights such as the main principles of kinesiology.

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Basic Principles of Kinesiology

There are three main principles in which kinesiology is built upon. These three main principles include the adaptation of the body through exercise, neuroplasticity, and motor redundancy (Hamilton, 2011). On each specific principle, adaptation through exercise focuses on health and wellness in clinical populations, as well as improved fitness for athletes. The various concepts of keeping fit and healthy are achieved from exercise, which acts as simple interventions for musculoskeletal conditions and movement disorders caused by the neuroplasticity of the brain.

Therapeutic exercises significantly improve motor capabilities and neuro-motor control in both the pathological and the normal populations. There are also many other forms of exercise in kinesiology, such as aerobic, anaerobic, and flexibility programs meant to increase muscular strength, the lean body mass, as well as increase the functional range of motion. Kinesiologists, therefore, focus on the physiological responses caused by physical exercise.

Neuroplasticity, as a critical principle of kinesiology, focuses on how movements within the body and the brain are related. The principle explains how the human body acquires motor skills through adaptive and maladaptive brain changes. Existing literature shows that physical activities have significant impacts on the brain such that most of these activities lead to enhanced cognitive functions among adults. The bottom line is that the effect of the body's physical movement leads to a lot of the impact within the brain, which can easily be explained through kinesiology.

Finally, there is the principle of motor redundancy, which argues that for every task performed or any form of movement by the human body, there are many other ways that the nervous system could achieve that task. These forms of redundancy appear across multiple levels in the motor execution chain. All in all, the concept of motor redundancy is used to explain the relative contribution of muscles in human movement. These main principles of kinesiology help the creation of exercise programs based on the body and the brain's ability to function.

How Kinesiology Works

Kinesiology is a type of therapy that uses biofeedback or muscle monitoring to check on imbalances that can cause difficulties within the body. It aims at detecting and correcting any imbalances that are related to minor injuries, nutrition, or stress. Once the body is under stress caused by either nutritional deficiencies or trauma, the energy flow within the body will be blocked.

When the flow is blocked, then the muscles reflect the stress to the brain and the entire nervous system, causing specific muscle patterns. To examine these patterns, the kinesiologists use a process of muscle monitoring, and based on the insights from the examined patterns, the experts can easily locate how the body is functioning, and the imbalances within the body as well. Therefore, the process of kinesiology indicates whether the stress experienced is related to particular muscles, or it is linked to specific organs or a specified energy way.

Since kinesiology can reveal the overall state of the chemical, structural, and emotional balance, then it aids in treating a wide range of health issues such as allergies, stress, nervous disorders, among other conditions such as insomnia, learning difficulties, and emotional issues. The list is just endless since there are many other health issues, such as bone and joint pains and fatigue. The bottom line is that kinesiology helps bodies to have a biofeedback system that enables checking of imbalances in the body that can cause difficulties within the body

Techniques used in Kinesiology

Kinesiologists work to utilize life forces and healing powers of the body itself. The techniques used in therapy draw inspiration from chiropractics and support from the Chinese acupuncture. The techniques used are also based on applied kinesiology that measures the strength of muscles.

Hence, one can conclude that the techniques of kinesiology are based on visualizing the body systems rather than models of medicine (Neumann, 2010). Some of the techniques employed in kinesiology include acupressure, lymphatic massage, nutritional advice, and homeopathy. Other forms of therapy, such as joint mobilizations or manipulations, myofascial releases, counseling, and environmental modification, are also part of the techniques.

Therefore, kinesiology uses both invasive and non-invasive treatment methods. This form of treatment is best done when in conjunction with medical treatment. Besides, from the existing literature on kinesiology, it is worth noting that the subject does not lend credibility that muscle testing can be used for diagnosis of clinical, preclinical, or any other conditions.

Scope of Practice

Kinesiology is described as a professional role and an area of study. In some areas, the scope is defined as the assessment of performance and movement, as well as rehabilitation to enhance performance and movement—experts in kinesiology work in different roles as health professionals. The experts offer rehabilitation services in a wide range of settings such as hospitals, clinics, and private settings to work with individual patients who require care for neurological, cardiac, and musculoskeletal conditions. They also provide rehabilitation to persons injured due to accidents.

Besides, experts in kinesiology also work as exercise therapists, return to work specialists, functional assessment specialists, among many other roles related to medical-legal evaluation. Lastly, Kinesiologists also take part in health education to teach people about the best behaviors to promote wellness. They play a role in the implementation and development of strategies or programs to carry out an exercise to improve the health of communities and specific individuals. The kinesiologists are found in hospitals, long term care clinics, community area settings, and health and fitness areas for athletes. The bottom line is that they often work in conjunction with other healthcare professionals to help restore the full function of patients.

Conclusion

In summary, kinesiology is a broad topic that is involved is practiced in a lot of fields. Some of these fields include physical therapy, physical medicine, athlete training, among many other fields. It also involves the use of different techniques for muscle testing or muscle monitoring to check on imbalances that can cause difficulties within the body. The paper has, therefore, addressed kinesiology from various dimensions with the inclusion of the used techniques, as noted herein.

References

Hamilton, N. P. (2011). Kinesiology: Scientific Basis of Human Motion. Brown & Benchmark. https://b-ok.africa/book/5477312/f07a16

Neumann, D. A. (2010). Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System; Foundation for Rehabilitation. Mosby & Elsevier. http://www.cis.just.edu.jo/Documents/PT%20206%20Kinesiology%20.pdf