Plantar vs. babinski

[terrics]

No question. Just a comment.  The plantar and babinski reflex are not the same.  Babinski is abnormal after infancy, toes down is normal.  What I didn't know that no response was also normal too.

Thanks,

terrics

[terrics]

oops, I just re-read my response.. The babinski response is normal in infancy up to a certain age; about 3 months???  If an adult has a babinksi response it is very abnormal.  The normal plantar reflex is big toe down often with other toes down.  Yet I'm still not sure about no response to the stimulation.  The neuro who did the exam is one of the top MS specialists in the country.

terrics

[young at heart]

TERRICS,

WITH ANY NEUROLOGICAL TESTING, IF NOT PERFORMED BY A QUALIFIED AND WELL EDUCATED DR. NEURO ECT....THIS TEST CAN BE  SUBJECTIVE.

MY LAST NEUROLOGICAL UPDATED TEST TOOK A GOOD HOUR AND THERE WERE PARTS ADDED FROM THE PREVIOUS TESTING.

MANY NEUROS USE A SHORTENED VERSION,WHICH IN ALL ACTUALITY IT HURTS THE PATIENT WHEN COMING TO A DX.

IN THE ARCHIVES SOMEWHERE IS A POST THAT I POSTED AND IT WAS VERY MUCH IN DETAIL ON THE EXAM I HAD.

DR.QUIX WAS IMPRESSED ON THE EXAM.

T-LYNN

[biowham]

This is from the National Institutes:

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Stroking the lateral part of the sole of the foot with a fairly sharp object produces plantar flexion of the big toe; often there is also flexion and adduction of the other toes. This normal response is termed the flexor plantar reflex.

In some patients, stroking the sole produces extension (dorsiflexion) of the big toe, often with extension and abduction ("fanning") of the other toes. This abnormal response is termed the extensor plantar reflex, or Babinski reflex.
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[Heather3418]

From Wikipedia

In medicine and neurology, the Babinski response to the plantar reflex is a reflex, named after Joseph Babinski (1857-1932), a French neurologist of Polish descent, that can identify disease of the spinal cord and brain and also exists as a primitive reflex in infants.[1][2] When non-pathological, it is called the plantar reflex, while the term Babinski's sign refers to its pathological form.

Methods

Babinski's SignThe lateral side of the sole of the foot is rubbed with a blunt implement so as not to cause pain, discomfort or injury to the skin; the instrument is run from the heel along a curve to the toes[3] (metatarsal pads).

There are three responses possible:

Flexor: the toes curve inward and the foot everts; this is the response seen in healthy adults.
Indifferent: there is no response.
Extensor: the hallux dorsiflexes and the other toes fan out - the Babinski's sign indicating damage to the central nervous system.

As the lesion responsible for the sign expands, so does the area from which the afferent Babinski response may be elicited. The Babinski response is also normal, while asleep and after a long period of walking.

Interpretation

Babinski's Sign in a healthy newborn. The Babinski’s sign can indicate upper motorneuron damage to the spinal cord, in the thoracic or lumbar region or brain disease, constituting damage to the corticospinal tract. Occasionally, a pathological plantar reflex is the first (and only) indication of a serious disease process and a clearly abnormal plantar reflex often prompts detailed neurological investigations, including CT scanning of the brain or MRI of the spine, as well as lumbar puncture for the study of cerebrospinal fluid.

In infants
Primitive reflexes
Infants will also show an extensor response. A baby's smaller toes will fan out and their big toe will dorsiflex slowly. This happens because the corticospinal pathways that run from the brain down the spinal cord are not fully myelinated at this age, so the reflex is not inhibited by the cerebral cortex. The extensor response disappears and gives way to the flexor response around 12-18 months of age