What Do You Know About Kinesiology?

Last week my nephew and namesake from Sydney Australia visited us. We had a nice conversation regarding the Thanksgiving Party in my sister-in-law residence in Palo Alto. I asked him some details about what happened at the party. He said every one was seated in a circle and take turns telling the group of what they are doing currently. I asked him what he found out regarding my two grand children, Philip and Marina. He said Philip is working in Berkeley while Marina is on her second year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and specializing for her bachelors degree on Kinesiology. This is news to me, so I did some web search on Kinesiology. Here's what I found in Wikipedia.

Kinesiology is a scientific study of human or non-human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, biomechanical, and psychological mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health (i.e. human Kinesiology) include biomechanics and orthopedics; strength and conditioning; sport psychology; methods of rehabilitation, such as physical and occupational therapy; and sport and exercise. Studies of human and animal motion include measures from motion tracking systems, electrophysiology of muscle and brain activity, various methods for monitoring physiological function, and other behavioral and cognitive research techniques.
Kinesiology as described above should not be confused with applied kinesiology, a controversial medical diagnostic method.

Applied kinesiology (AK) is a technique in alternative medicine claimed to be able to diagnose illness or choose treatment by testing muscles for strength and weakness. According to their guidelines on allergy diagnostic testing, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology stated there is "no evidence of diagnostic validity" of applied kinesiology. Another study has shown that, as an evaluative method, AK "is no more useful than random guessing", and the American Cancer Society has said that "scientific evidence does not support the claim that applied kinesiology can diagnose or treat cancer or other illness.

The term "kinesiologist" is neither a licensed nor professional designation in the United States nor most countries (with the exception of Canada), individuals with training in this area can teach physical education, provide consulting services, conduct research and develop policies related to rehabilitation, human motor performance, ergonomics, and occupational health and safety. In North America, kinesiologists may study to earn a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, or Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Kinesiology or a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree, while in Australia or New Zealand, they are often conferred an Applied Science (Human Movement) degree (or higher). Many doctoral level faculty in North American kinesiology programs received their doctoral training in related disciplines, such as neuroscience, mechanical engineering, psychology, and physiology. The world's first kinesiology department was launched in 1967 at the University of Waterloo, Canada.