Goodheart Collection Opens

at Palmer College

Library

On August 14, 2010, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, honored Dr. George Goodheart, founder of applied kinesiology (AK), with the addition of Dr. George J. Goodheart Collection to the David D. Palmer Health Sciences Library. George Goodheart’s wife, JoAnn Goodheart, generously donated much of his memorabilia, which is now on permanent display and available for reference, to the library. It was not a difficult decision for her to choose the Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, to house Goodheart’s collection. “The very thought that ‘The Goodheart Collection’ would be permanently housed with the archives of D. D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, made that decision easy,” she said.

Additionally, several generous donors from the International College of Applied Kinesiology-USA (ICAK-USA) contributed a bust of Goodheart to the library.

The ICAK-USA and JoAnn Goodheart hosted guests at a reception during Palmer Davenport Homecoming to make this AK history accessible to the world. It is JoAnn Goodheart’s anticipation that all who enter the library feel the presence of George Goodheart’s passion for all areas of health. “George was very proud to be a Doctor of Chiropractic,” she said. “He loved his profession and dedicated his life to proving and enhancing all of the principles of Chiropractic. My hope is that this collection will inspire all who go through it to never stop learning and trying to help improve the quality of life of all of their patients.”

George Goodheart graduated from the National College of Chiropractic in 1939 as a second-generation chiropractor. Shortly after he began his profession as a chiropractor, Goodheart was called to join the US Air Force in World War II and became the youngest, at that time, to achieve the rank of major at age 26. Throughout his life he made many noteworthy achievements. In 1964, Goodheart discovered a relationship between the strength of muscles and specific organs or glands. With this breakthrough, AK was born and is currently practiced by thousands in the medical field. AK is a diagnostic value system based on the examination of mental, chemical, and physical factors notably confirmed by specific manual muscle testing. In 1975, the International College of Applied Kinesiology was founded to further Goodheart’s research in AK. Goodheart dedicated 32 years to ICAK as its research director.

In the winter of 1980, Goodheart became the first doctor of chiropractic to be appointed to the US Sports Medicine Committee at the winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Goodheart was nominated in 1988 by members of the US Congress for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award bestowed by the president on behalf of the nation. In 2001, Goodheart was featured in an article in TIME magazine titled “Alternative Medicine Innovators, A Breed of Healers.”

For more information, please contact the ICAK-USA at 913-384-5336 or icak@dci-kansascity.com.