Knee Jerk Reflex || Patellar Reflex || Reflex Test || Part - 1

Knee Jerk Reflex || Patellar Reflex || Reflex Test || Part - 1 If you have ever been to a primary care physician, they have almost certainly used a little hammer to tap your knee to test for your knee-jerk reflex. In response to this tap, your leg likely jerked a little, hence the name of the reflex. This simple test is used to assure that everything is working correctly in your spinal cord. A diminished reflex response can be associated with peripheral nervous system disorders such as sensory polyneuropathies, neuromuscular junction disorders, and others, while hyper reflexive response is related to central nervous system disorders. It is important to note that an absence of the reflex in response to a tap does not necessarily mean that an individual has a disease, as the test is not 100% accurate'. The knee-jerk reflex is not just used to test your neurological state when you are at the doctor's office. It is used in everyday life, even if you don't notice it. Before we talk about when the reflex is used, it is important to understand what a reflex is in general, and how the knee-jerk reflex specifically works. A reflex is a fast, automatic response to a stimulus, requiring no input from the brain. There are two types of healthy reflexes: muscle stretch and cutaneous reflexes. There are also pathological reflexes, that is, reflexes that are not expected to be found in healthy individuals. Such reflexes include the Babinski reflex, a reflex elicited by drawing a dull object down the sole of the foot. If extension of the big toe and abduction of the other toes is seen, the patient is thought to have problems with the corticospinal tract. Both healthy and pathological reflexes help us learn about the neurological health of an individual, particularly at birth. When an infant is born, multiple tests, including the Babinski test, are conducted to assure the infant is healthy. Reflexes are crucial in that they allow us to react fast to a potentially dangerous stimulus, such as a hot surface. Not only do reflexes keep us safe from harm, but they also are involved in daily activities, such as balancing when we walk. The reflex that helps us not fall down on our faces when we trip as we are walking is the knee-jerk reflex. The knee-jerk reflex falls under the category of muscle stretch reflexes, where tapping a tendon leads to the activation of a muscle spindle, leading to nerve fiber activation in the spinal cord, which further leads to a response through a motor neuron. #reflexes #kneejoint #mbbsfighters