354_Chapter 9_Lumbar Spine
Figurę 9-22. A, Patellar tendon reflex (L4 nerve root). B, Reinforcement technique.
examiner may also place a finger on the posterior tibial tendon and strike the finger instead of striking the tendon directly (Fig. 9-23A). When the reflex is elicited, a slight plantar flexion inversion response is noted.
Media! Hamstring Reflex (L5). To elicit the medial hamstring reflex, the patient is placed in the prone posi-tion. The examiner passes one hand underneath the patients leg and places the thumb of that hand on the semitendinosus tendon in the popliteal fossa. The patients leg is allowed to rest on the examiner’s forearm so that the patients knee is somewhat flexed. The exam-iner then strikes the thumb, which is pressing on the semitendinosus tendon, with the pointed end of the ham-mer (see Fig. 9-23 B). When the reflex is elicited, the
Figurę 9-23. L5 nerve root reflexes. A, Tibialis posterior. B, Medial hamstring.