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Coach Kramer
11 September 2017
Purpose: To test if an athlete's sensory and motor neurons are not affected by an injury that can
Background: A reflex is an involuntary movement caused by a stimulus that travels to the brain.
In order for a reflex to occur, a nerve pathway called a reflex arc in necessary for the brain to
send a message to the area of the stimulus. A pathway includes a receptor, an afferent pathway
toward the CNS, nerve impulse from the integration center to an effector, and a contracting
response by a muscle. Two categories that reflexes are categorized by are autonomic and
somatic. Autonomic reflexes are brought about by activation of smooth and cardiac muscle as
well as the glands. Somatic reflexes include stimulation of skeletal muscles and involve the
nervous system.
Hypothesis: I think a stimulus caused by the Taylor Reflex Hammer will cause the athletes
muscle to contract if they have not had a brain or spinal cord injury. If they have had an injury, it
1. Place the athlete on a table sitting up right to test the patella tendon reflex
5. To test the Achilles, have the athlete in a prone position with their lower legs off the table
8. To test the triceps, have the athletes shoulder abducted 90 degrees and elbow flexed at 90
degrees
11. To test the Babinski reflex, have the athlete in a supine position
12. Run the pinwheel along the plantar aspect of the foot
For the reflexes with eyes open, Jalen was the only one that did not have a tricep reflex.
Reasoning behind the absence of his arm reaction could include myopathy, a damaged nerve, or
his regular body function to have an extremely small reaction. For the reflexes with eyes closed,
Teddy was the only one that had positive reflexes for both sides of the Patellar test. Jalen and I
could have possibly been waiting for the hammer to tap our patella that we did not relax our legs.
If the leg is not relaxed, the reaction will not come easily when the patella is hit.
Conclusion: My hypothesis was supported for the most part as the three of us had normal
reflexes for most of the tests. None of us have nerve damage or spinal cord injuries and all three
of us had reflex reactions to most of the tests. Jalen had no reaction to some of the tests and it is
possible that is how his body normally functions without any type of nerve injury. Even though
he has no injury, there was no display of movement which was the only part that did not support
my hypothesis.