Why do doctors test your knee reflexes?
Medical author Dr Janice Rachel Mae explains that doctors routinely use reflex tests to check if there are any problems in the nervous system involved in movement, nerve functioning or health of the connective tissue in the knee or leg.
What causes poor knee reflex?
[1] Many additional causes of peripheral neuropathy can yield an absent or diminished patellar tendon reflex, including diabetes, alcohol use disorder, amyloidosis, vitamin deficiencies, toxins, and remote cancer.
What would a slow patellar reflex indicate?
Patellar tendon reflex. Your doctor will use a rubber hammer to tap firmly on the tendon just below your kneecap. In a normal test, your knee will extend and lift your foot a little. A decreased or absent reflex may mean that there is compression in the L2, L3, or L4 region.
Are reflexes affected by MS?
Multiple sclerosis (MS): While weak reflexes are more common with MS, this condition can lead to severe muscle spasms. During a reflex test, such spasms might occur and lead to a diagnosis of brisk reflexes. With MS, you may have problems with gait and overall movement, too.
How can I check my knee reflex at home?
Tap the spot right below your kneecap with the side of your hand. Feel your knee to find a slight gap between the bottom of your kneecap and the top of your shin bone. Gently tap that space with the side of your hand, or have a friend do it for you. If you have a medical reflex hammer, that’s even better!
Where do you tap your knee for reflexes?
Your doctor will use a rubber hammer to tap firmly on the tendon just below your kneecap. In a normal test, your knee will extend and lift your foot a little. A decreased or absent reflex may mean that there is compression in the L2, L3, or L4 region.
What do slow reflexes indicate?
A reflex can be decreased or absent if there is a problem with the nerve supply. To test your reflexes, your doctor will use a rubber hammer to tap firmly on the tendon. If certain reflexes are decreased or absent, it will show what nerve might be compressed. Not all nerve roots have a reflex associated with them.
What instrument is used to test knee reflex?
The penlight is typically used to examine the eyes, nose and throat. Percussion Hammer – tool used to test neurologic reflexes. The head of the instrument is used to test reflexes by striking the tendons of the ankle, knee, wrist and elbow.
What is the normal knee reflex?
The normal knee-jerk reflex involves no input to or from the brain. The normal knee-jerk or, “patellar jerk,” reflex is elicited when the knee is tapped below the knee cap (patella). Sensors that detect stretching of the tendon of this area send electrical impulses back to the spinal cord.
What is the cause of no reflex response in the knee?
If there is no response to the knee tap, it may indicate nerve damage. One side of the body reacts slower to a reflex test – If your reflexes are slower on one side it may indicate early onset of progressive disease, or localized nerve damage.
What causes no knee reflex?
Causes of an absent knee and ankle reflex with extensor plantars implies a mixed upper and lower motor neurone lesion, and causes include: subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord. motor neurone disease.