Saturday, July 16, 2016

hammer, looking for tendon

A word of advice: throw that dinky tomahawk relex hammer you have into the back of your closet and save it for pediatrics.  It is frankly completely useless as far as eliciting reflexes, which are incredibly important in distinguishing a problem as involving upper motor neurons (e.g. your brain and spinal cord) from lower motor neurons (e.g. your peripheral nerves radiating out from the spinal cord to, say, your fingers). 

It is absolutely amazing how being able to stick out your tongue, or feel a pinprick, or having too many or too few reflexes can tell you exactly where in your body there is a problem.  I love the physical diagnosis aspect of neurology.

But, to get reflexes, get a real hammer with either weight or a long pendulum.  I have been useless at getting reflexes until other residents or attendings hand me a "real" reflex hammer.

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