Lor Manaudou announces that he is becoming a kinesiologist. why does this raise questions?

In a magazine interview Current wife Published on September 20, Lor Manaudou announced that after retiring from sports in 2013, he is taking a new professional direction, becoming a kinesiologist. “I’ve certified my 600 hours of practice, all I have to do is pass the certification. […] How to help people psychologically attracts me,” he said. The information could go unnoticed. Kinesiology has been on the rise for several years now. Some people use it like they would psychotherapy. Except that kinesiology is not recognized by the scientific community and even enters the so-called “alternative” therapy in the eyes of Miviludes (in the eyes of Miviludes, an interdepartmental mission and the fight against sectarian abuse).

To understand the problem, we need to look at the origins of the practice and its nature. Created in the 1960s by American chiropractor George Goodhart, kinesiology is a holistic method that has some of its roots in traditional Chinese medicine. The National Society of Kinesiologists (SNK) defines it on its website as a “global human approach” that aims to “support all people to achieve better balance on the mental, emotional, physical and energetic levels”. It recognizes that the body, mind, and environment are interconnected, and that an imbalance in one area can affect the others. The practice uses muscle tests and uses techniques based on movement, posture, breathing and even nutrition to identify and repair blockages.

The risk of controlling behavior and sectarian excesses

This “energetic” kinesiology combines a number of practices such as “health through touch”, “educational kinesiology” or even “kinesiological astrology”, we can read in the discipline evaluation report carried out by “Inserm in 2017”. The request of the Ministry of Health. The first alarm signal, comments Bruno Falisard, co-author of the report and professor of public health at the University of Paris-Saclay. “The theoretical foundations of kinesiology are scientifically dubious, fundamentally irrational and in some cases border on magical thinking,” he emphasizes. Practice therefore lends itself to controlling behavior and sectarian excesses, hence our exhortation to exercise the greatest caution. Not to mention that there were contradictions.”

This practice actually appears in the Miviludes report, identifying new risk subjects. “The radicalization of some followers of this movement has led to excesses of a sectarian nature, in which the hygienic dimension has been a decisive factor, which has been raised to the level of dogma,” the document states. To illustrate this observation, Miviloudes cites a case tried in 2005 at the Quimper Assize Court. In their search for purified food, parents, guided by ideas inherent in the practice of kinesiology, adopted a vegan diet for themselves and their children. This diet, lacking in animal protein and vitamins, and their distrust of the medical profession, led to the death of their child, who had been breast-fed since birth and “became severely malnourished.”

The theoretical foundations of kinesiology are scientifically questionable

Bruno Falisard, co-author of the kinesiology evaluation report by Inserm

The National Society of Kinesiology assures us on its website that kinesiology is neither medicine nor therapy and does not want to be. It leaves doctors and specialists to treat patients and their ailments. Only the training to become a kinesiologist and the profession itself are not regulated. A great blur, a “wild west” according to Bruno Falisard, which inevitably exposes us to excesses. “This does not mean that all kinesiologists are charlatans,” he explains. As part of our assessment report, we encountered practitioners who were honest and willing to present and explain their practice, but this is a minority.” The conclusion to be made for the expert is clear. however, this treatment calls into question its nature and legality. For the rest, everyone is free to use it. Given these points of vigilance.