Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Abstract
The investigation of patellar tendon reflex involves development of a reflex hammer holder, kinematic data collection and analysis of patellar reflex responses using motion analysis techniques. The main aim of this research is to explore alternative means of assessing reflexes as a part of routine clinical diagnosis. The motion analysis system was applied to provide quantitative data which is a more objective measure of the patellar tendon reflex. Kinematic data was collected from 28 males and 22 females whilst subjected to a knee jerk test. Further analysis of kinematic data was performed to predict relationships which might affect the patellar tendon reflex. All subjects were seated on a high stool with their legs hanging freely within the capture volume of the motion analysis system. Knee jerk tests were applied to all subjects, on both sides of the leg, by eliciting hypo, hyper, and normal reflexes. An additional reinforcement technique called the Jendrassik manoeuvre was also performed under the same conditions to elicit a normal patellar tendon reflex. The comparison of reflex response between genders showed that female subjects generally had a greater response compared to males. However, the difference in reflex response between the left leg and the right leg was not significant. Tapping strength to elicit a hyper-reflex produced greater knee-jerk compared to the normal clinical tapping strength. All results were in agreement with clinical findings and results found by some early researchers.
Keywords
Motion analysis, Kinematics, Patellar tendon reflex, muscle-spindle sensitivity, relaxed human-subjects, jendrassik maneuver, h-reflex, reinforcement
Divisions
fac_eng
Publication Title
Medical Engineering & Physics
Volume
33
Issue
4
Publisher
Elsevier
Additional Information
Tham, L K Osman, N A Abu Lim, K S Pingguan-Murphy, B Abas, W A B Wan Zain, N Mohd eng Clinical Trial England 2010/12/15 06:00 Med Eng Phys. 2011 May;33(4):407-10. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.11.002. Epub 2010 Dec 13.