There are many different reflex systems in the body. These range from the more common "knee-jerk" reaction tapping the tendon of the patella at the knee, producing a muscle jerk, to the more subtle reactions of smelling or seeing food which activates the stomach process to produce digestive enzymes. Other reflexes include that of sensing danger, and producing the flight or fight mechanism involved with increased adrenaline output to prepare oneself to fight or run for his life.
Following is a classic study of reflexes illustrating the intelligence behind them: A scientist introduced food to the taste buds and then took a sample of the digestive enzymes from the stomach without allowing the food to be swallowed. He sent the different samples these foods to be studied to a lab along with samples of the digestive juices. Each was labeled in such a way that the lab did not know which food went with which enzymes. His request was to analyze each and come up with an enzyme mixture that would be right for each food sample.
The lab sent back a report saying the needed enzymes for the food samples were found in the samples he had sent. In fact they correctly matched the enzymes with the foods in the order the body had produced them.
What this shows is that the nervous system picked up the information in vibrational form from the foods, and, through reflex action, caused the right reaction producing just the right enzymes in the stomach. Reflexes are expressions of intelligence. The nervous system expresses both the conscious and subconscious mind, which are the portals of intelligence within the body. In Reflex Testing, as in VEGAtesting, we use the body's own computer.
In the mid-50's, George Goodheart, a chiropractic physician, observed an interesting occurrence. He noted as he was treating different spinal levels, that when certain levels were out of place (subluxated), the muscles that corresponded with that spinal level would be weak. He found that as certain spinal levels became dysfunctional, that would affect the corresponding nerves and muscles of that level. As he worked with this discovery, he found that after he made the proper adjustment, the muscle group that was weak before would suddenly test strong.
But the response he noticed, an immediate reflex strengthening of the muscles, was not permanent; the particular muscle group would not stay strong until the spinal level was completely corrected.
This response later led to the discovery that the physician can "challenge" segments of the spine, and thereby produce a muscle response, if those segments were dysfunctional. "Challenge" means that if you put pressure on, or touch an area where there is some neurological disturbance, it will then cause the nervous system to temporarily lose its ability to compensate. This challenge, in turn, produces certain changes in muscle tone throughout the body. That immediate change can be noted a few different ways.
One way is to feel the change in the locking of a muscle, as you push against resistance. Another way which I feel is more objective, is to note the relative change in arm or leg lengths.
As this decompensation reaction takes place, some muscles tighten up, and other muscles become weak. This causes an observable change; in appearance one arm, or one leg draws up, or becomes "short".
This phenomena forms the basis for the reflex testing that we do at Keefe Clinic.
To explain: if you have an organ, for instance, a liver, that is dysfunctional; that dysfunction is not only on a chemical basis, but on a neurological basis as well. So, as the nervous system tries to normalize the function of the liver, and is not able to, that allows a constant neurological irritation to be expressed back to the central nervous system. The body attempts to compensate for that as well as it can. But just putting manual pressure on the liver("challenging" it), introduces neurological stimulus, which causes a temporary disorganization within the nervous system, as it tries to incorporate and deal with the new stimulus. During that process, if you are testing muscle strength, or if arm or leg lengths are measured, a deviation will show up. That is the nervous system trying to respond to the new stimulus, trying to organize its response. It is trying to bring back as much stability (homeostasis) to that area as possible.
We found that this particular reflex is produced not only by manual stimulation, but also by stimulation from even more subtle stimuli. These can include electromagnetic fields (positive and negative poles of a magnet), or the vibrational fields of any substance, even vitamins. Thus, introducing these stimuli to the body's nervous system and checking the reflex response of the body allows us to make a quick scan of the major body systems, looking for compensation reactions.
Reflex testing, along with the VEGA testing Method that we utilize here at Keefe Clinic, is based on the two following basic laws:
Reflex testing, along with other diagnostic procedures, can help us understand the root of your health problem.