Autonomic Response Testing (ART) Overview
I am Brett Sparks and I have no clinical experience. I am a practice manager/consultant, a former high school English teacher, and, because I am married to Dr. Sparks, I help her with ART sessions. With that in mind, I wanted to provide a layperson’s perspective on ART and what patients can expect.
ART was developed by Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD, as he explored the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and the immune system. The basis of ART is that the autonomic nervous system can show when the immune system is stressed through muscle testing. This involves a patient laying on a table with my right hand placed above or below their knee with my left arm held out from my side. ART equipment is placed above the patient’s head on the table. Dr. Sparks adds and removes test vials to the ART equipment while focusing on a symptom, organ, or area of the body. Dr. Sparks applies pressure to my outstretched arm. Whether or not the arm remains firm indicates something to Dr. Sparks.
Dr. Klinghardt and Dr. Sparks could provide a scientific explanation for this process that involves light emission, physics, and blocked regulation, but my explanation reflects my super simplified perspective. I can’t tell you why my arm remains firm sometimes and goes weak other times, but I can tell you that whatever that indicates to Dr. Sparks matters.
You might wonder whether I can influence my arm. This is something I’ve thought about as well. I try not to influence my arm and, honestly, I don’t think I can. When we started ART, I concentrated on forcibly resisting Dr. Sparks’ pressure to push down on my arm. This didn’t seem to matter, except for the fact that my arm became terribly sore. I certainly don’t want to influence the results, so when the ART process allows, I often talk to the patient so I’m not paying attention to what Dr. Sparks is investigating.
The ART process starts with balancing the autonomic nervous system, then moves to investigating stress from common stressors such as toxins, mold, viruses, parasites, and blood-borne pathogens, as well as complicating factors such as dental stress, trauma, diet and EMF exposure. The premise of ART is that the inflammation and subsequent dysfunction often caused by these stressors can compromise the immune system, resulting in chronic health issues. Once inflammation and dysfunction resulting from stressors are addressed, Dr. Sparks often sees that the immune system is better able to function.
Along with a functional medicine review of history and symptoms, lab testing, and physical exam, ART a tool used by Dr. Sparks in the Evaluation phase of the ATP Reset approach. Dr. Sparks uses the results from ART to guide patient treatment in the subsequent Mitigation and Management phases of ATP Reset. Patients may repeat the ART session after working on mitigation and management to explore their treatment progress.