What is the Purpose of a Reflex Hammer?
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Reflex Hammer.

Health care providers use a reflex hammer for checking reflexes as a part of a neurological examination. This simple test can determine is there is something to worry about in a person’s nervous system. When thinking about an examination of the nervous system one should know that this includes the spinal cord and brain and all the nerves that travel to and from them. A lot can be learned from checking a person’s reflexes on how well the nerves are transmitting messages to the brain. During a neurological examination the health care provider, who can do these tests in their office, is looking to determine mental awareness, physical ability as in balance and performance, and a sensory examination to determine if the patient is having normal reactions to stimulation.

Normal movement is tested by the use of the reflex hammer. If the reflexes are not strong enough, which is determined by the body’s reaction to the gentle hit of the hammer, this is called hyporeflexia. If on the other hand the person’s response is to overreact to the touch of the reflex hammer this is called hyporeflexia. Sometimes the greatest difficulty in performing these tests is determining how strong the hit from the reflex hammer should be to accurately gage a patient’s reaction.

Certain points on the body are used to determine these reactions. The most common is the knee. A normal reaction should be one movement forward and then backward. If there are several movements back and forth this can be a sign of a brain injury. When checking the arms the doctor puts their thumb just above the inside of the elbow joint. Then they use the reflex hammer to hit their thumb and see how the patient’s arm responds. This is repeated on the other arm and a comparison is made.

The first reflex hammer was made in 1888 and called the Taylor or tomahawk because of eh inventor and the shape of the head of the hammer. But there are many different types that are used including the Babinski, which was made in 1912, and the Buck or Stookey. All serve more or less the same purpose, to test various reflex reactions in the patient, though are often made in slightly different shapes and of different materials.

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