The Functional Clinical Assessment and Lingual-Neural Testing
Understand the Physiology of the FCA
A Functional Clinical Assessment is just one of the techniques in an FNTP's toolbox. It is used to assess the body's innate ability for self-selection of necessary nutrients, through specific anatomical points throughout the body. It involves palpating reflex points, which are established neurovascular reflex areas that relate to each organ of the body. The reflex points are either over the location of the organ or are reflexes from the organ.
Using their knowledge of the innate connection between the nerve endings at skin level and the body's internal organs, your FNTP will ask you to rate the level of tenderness as they palpate the reflex point. The point is felt as a tight or weak muscle and is usually sensitive to palpation. Most reflex points are throughout the torso, on your abdomen and rib cage. The aim is to first understand which organs are under-functioning and contributing to your body's overall dysfunction, and second, what they need in order to regain their function.
Simply, our body can tell us what it needs.
Your FNTP can test nutrients that you may wish to consider to assist your body's recovery. He or she will do this by asking you to place a small sample of a nutrient in your mouth. When the message from the nerve endings on your tongue (your taste buds) has travelled to your brain and out to your external nerve endings (around 15-30 seconds), they will re-test the reflex points that were most sensitive. You will be amazed at how the tenderness rating will change when your body senses the right nutrient to help it heal. That's what we mean about the "body's innate intelligence" – we are incredibly complex organisms with the ability to heal ourselves, if we give ourselves the chance.
Initially developed in the 1930's, by Dr. Frank Chapman DO, Dr. Terrence Bennett DC and Dr. Robert Riddler DC, the Functional Clinical Assessment is an invaluable tool used by numerous Functional Nutritional Practitioners throughout the world. It is a reliable method of regaining nutritional balance and overall wellbeing, based on biochemical individuality.
Overview of the Functional Clinical Assessment
The Functional Clinical Assessment is a process which allows Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (FNTPs) to identify organ systems under stress and then prioritise support accordingly. Every organ system is surrounded by a network, whether that be a NEURAL (brain), VASCULAR (blood vessel), or NEURAL-LYMPHATIC (lymph vessels) network.
When an organ system becomes stressed, blood and/or lymph is shunted to these networks in an effort to draw the necessary nutrients to support the organ. This collection of fluid takes up space at the organ system and registers as tenderness in the body.
The Functional Clinical Assessment is completed by palpating a series of points identified to correlate to specific organs or systems in the body. Each client is given a scale of 0-10 and asked to rate their own tenderness. Each client's baseline is different and custom to their own body, but allows the practitioner to connect directly with the body's innate response to nutritional deficiencies.
These functional testing points were discovered and categorised by Frank Chapman, DO, Terence Bennett, DC, and Robert Riddler, DC.
The Process of Lingual-Neural Testing
Lingual-Neural Testing (LNT) is a valuable biofeedback tool that enables practitioners to determine the usefulness of a nutritional supplement before it is dispensed. LNT accesses the body's innate ability to discriminate between what it needs, and what it does not need, in order to correct a specific problem, for example, a weak organ or a nutritional deficiency.
This simple and effective technique makes the difference between a generic nutritional therapy plan and a personalised one.
Because of the neural or electrical connection between the brain and organs, we can place a specific nutrient on the tongue that an organ may need, and the presence of this nutrient is registered by the brain.
If the nutrient is exactly what that organ system needs to restore function, we get direct feedback within 15 seconds via a change in tenderness rating.
Our body's innate immune system is always trying to communicate with us (like a gut instinct or hunch) but we have never been taught how to understand those signals. Although Lingual-Neural testing seems almost mystical to some people, the neurology behind it and the fact that the body has this ability to delineate among nutritional needs are totally logical and consistent with the sciences we know and understand.
The Functional Clinical Assessment gives us as Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners the ability to communicate directly with our clients' bodies and understand what they need and customise a nutritional plan to support optimal health.
