Florence Kendall and the history of manual muscle testing and posture assessment

Florence Kendall: Pioneering Manual Muscle Testing and Posture Assessment in Physical Therapy

Florence Peterson Kendall was a pioneering American physical therapist whose work, particularly the landmark text 'Muscles: Testing and Function', established the foundational principles of manual muscle testing and postural analysis. Her systematic approach to assessing muscle strength and alignment became a cornerstone of physical therapy education and clinical practice worldwide.