Manual Muscle Testing & Acupuncture: An Injury-Based Approach

The Manual Muscle Testing and Acupuncture: An Injury-Based Approach video library compiles clinical examinations Matt Callison has used for over 33 years. It presents information through the lens of injury-based sports medicine, posture, traditional Chinese medicine channels and effective acupuncture treatment protocols. The library consists of 62 videos covering the neck, shoulder and upper extremities, as well as the low back, hip, and lower extremities.

Manual Muscle Testing & More

The video collection not only includes Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) but also orthopedic resistive testing and muscle firing sequences in which acupuncture protocols can make changes. The techniques taught in this collection help the practitioner to differentiate specific injuries and identify imbalances contributing to pain and injury. For instance, distinguishing supraspinatus tendinopathy from bicipital tenosynovitis, muscle testing for diagnosing de Quervain’s syndrome, medial and lateral elbow pain, etc.

Moreover, there are numerous muscle tests and muscle firing sequences for determining muscles involved in low back pain, anterior hip pain and medial knee pain. Notably, there is a MMT test I use clinically to assess digestive disturbances affecting the Stomach, which then can be altered by needling Ren 12. This organ-related MMT test can be used in each clinical visit to assess patient progress for the patient’s potential digestive complaints.

The acupuncture aspect of this video library discusses motor points and demonstrates many adjacent and distal points that significantly influence muscle strength, proprioception, range of motion, muscle firing patterns, and pain. Motor Point Needling videos.

A Powerful Diagnostic Tool

Over three decades ago, Matt Callison made groundbreaking discoveries that revolutionized the sports acupuncture field. Manual muscle testing and acupuncture have emerged as powerful diagnostic tools, demonstrating their efficacy before and after treatment. Throughout the video collection, viewers will witness numerous examples of “Acupuncture as an Assessment.” It’s a test, needle, and re-test protocol that generates a change, enabling the practitioner to pinpoint key acupuncture points for treatment. In other words, these relationships are explored through clinical assessment, acupuncture treatment, and re-assessment.

Clinical examples demonstrating how treatment in one area of the body can influence muscles, tissues, and symptoms in another area of the body are demonstrated.
For instance, treating the peroneus longus motor point temporarily alleviates sacroiliac joint pain when examined via palpation or ortho exams. The piriformis motor point relaxes the tissue surrounding UB 10, making it effective in treating cervicogenic headaches. Similarly, the flexor carpi ulnaris softens the tissue at the distal levator scapula attachment at the scapula, which a common tender (ashi) region. Select rectus abdominis motor points strengthen the sternocleidomastoid muscles.

Manual Muscle Testing & Acupuncture as Diagostic & Treatment Tools

This video collection is the culmination of more than 33 years of clinical experience working with sports injuries, musculoskeletal dysfunction, posture, manual muscle testing, orthopedic assessment, traditional Chinese medicine channels, and acupuncture treatment. Matt Callison’s groundbreaking work, in which he developed and popularized using acupuncture with manual muscle testing as an important assessment tool in the sports acupuncture field. These findings established the clinical value of using muscle testing and acupuncture together as both diagnostic and treatment tools.