Dr. Wally Schmitt: Developer of Quintessential Applications

Dr. Walter H. Schmitt, Jr. (1948–2021) was an American chiropractic physician who developed a physiologically grounded, science-driven system for clinical decision-making now known as the Quintessential Applications (QA) Clinical Protocol.
He practiced in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for over four decades and passed away unexpectedly in November 2021.

Dr. Schmitt was born on May 7, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan. In the late 1950s, his family moved into a home next to Dr. George Goodheart, the founder of applied kinesiology. As the families became close friends, Schmitt was exposed at an early age to the development of applied kinesiology (AK) and the use of manual muscle testing as a tool for diagnosis and treatment.
He attended Duke University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. At Duke, he served as captain of the swim team and met his wife, Anne, to whom he was married for 48 years
Soon after his studies at Duke, he enrolled at the National College of Chiropractic, the same institution from which Goodheart had graduated, and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 1974.

From 1975 to 1980, Dr. Schmitt practiced alongside Dr. Goodheart, gaining direct clinical experience with manual muscle testing and the thought process that shaped the development of applied kinesiology as a diagnostic tool. This would literally reshape Schmitt’s future and lead to the development of the Quintessential Applications (QA) Clinical Protocol. In 1980, he relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he remained in clinical practice for more than four decades.

He served on the Board of Directors of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK) for nineteen years and as a Trustee of the Foundation for Allied Conservative Therapies Research. In 1991, he became the first clinician in the world to hold diplomate status in both applied kinesiology (DIBAK) and chiropractic neurology (DABCN)..

Dr. Schmitt’s central contribution was the formalization of a hierarchical clinical protocol within applied kinesiology. In collaboration with Dr. Kerry McCord, he co-authored a clinical reference manual, Quintessential Applications: A(K) Clinical Protocol, as he developed and began teaching the comprehensive 16-weekend, 192-hour QA Course.
This course presented an expansive 32-step decision-making framework, with step-by-step assessment procedures designed to accomplish specifically ordered physiological tasks. The QA Protocol addresses systems first and is designed to be technique-agnostic; that is, any effective, natural, holistic, non-invasive technique or procedure (AK or not) can be integrated into this physiologically based, science-driven hierarchy for the ordered application of clinical procedures.

Common Glandular Dysfunctions in the General Practice (1981)
Stop Your Pain Now! (2000)
Compiled Notes on Clinical Nutritional Products (third edition, 2012)
Quintessential Applications: A(K) Clinical Protocol, co-authored with Dr. Kerry McCord (first edition 2005; second edition 2009, and Memorial 3rd Edition 2022)

Dr. Schmitt authored more than 70 papers for ICAK-USA annual meetings and more than 30 articles for trade and peer-reviewed journals. His 1999 paper, co-authored with Dr. Samuel Yanuck, “Expanding the Neurological Examination Using Functional Neurological Assessment, Part Two,” published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, remains among the more frequently cited works in the functional neurology literature and is the peer-reviewed paper upon which the QA Course is based.

For over four decades, Dr. Schmitt taught applied kinesiology. Beginning in 2005, he taught the QA Course alongside Dr. Kerry McCord, a comprehensive program recorded over 16 weekends of 12-hour sessions.
His teaching emphasized clinical reasoning over specific technique or procedure, and the identification of the underlying cause driving a patient’s presentation, rather than addressing the named complaint with a “local only” perspective. The phrases that might best be associated with his approach include:
Too much or not enough of anything is disease.
Diagnose the process, not just the name.
Measure, measure, measure.
Systems first, symptoms second.
Muscle testing is an important tool in the decision-making process of what to do for a patient when confronted with a number of different alternatives.

Dr. Wally Schmitt passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, November 20, 2021, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 73, while jogging in the neighborhood where he had lived for nearly 40 years.
Those who knew him, including those he mentored or who attended his seminars, as well as his colleagues, patients, family, and friends, deeply mourned his loss.

His legacy as a brilliant and self-effacing physician and educator, marked by graciousness and humility, lives on through the countless people he helped, inspired, taught, and encouraged.

Dr. Kerry McCord, Dr. Schmitt’s long-time clinical collaborator, continues his legacy by teaching the techniques, procedures, and clinical thought process developed by Dr. Schmitt and embodied in the QA Clinical Protocol and QA Course.
The QA Course, along with its ongoing enhancements, is available at qahomestudy.com and stands as a continuing expression of our mission: “to relieve mankind’s needless suffering from common and uncommon health and wellness challenges.”

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