weird foot sensitivity thing

[daisycake]

Well my mum was in A&E at the weekend and got loads of tests - one in which the doctor ran a pen up her foot to see what happened I think - she told me she didn't really react to it and he did it again 4 or 5 times.. what does that mean? She said she thought it was something like if your toes moved you had heart disease but that makes no sense? Just curious as to why they'd do that!

[stressbunny]

I had this done at the osteo. It is a reflex that indicates nerve activity... I can't remember the name babuski or babinksi or something, if your foot curls a certain way it it indicates nerve function or something... not to do with heart I don't think

[debs71]

Yeh, it's called the Babinski reflex. In babies up to about aged 2 they have a distinct response (they fan their toes out and move their foot inwards)

Adults have their plantar reflex (the same thing) checked in a neurological exam to see if they have the Babinski response which by that age is moving the toes and foot upwards and away from whatever the doctor is testing it with (pen usually)

It is a neurological test to check if the brain is sending messages to the nerve endings.

[daisycake]

Oh right so is it quite normal if nothing happens? When she did the same to me later (my mum that is, as an experiment ) my toes curled inward but then later they went outward. But with my mum nothing happens at all?

[daisycake]

Hm, I might mention this to my GP as my foot seems to alternate between going out and in - very odd.

[debs71]

Hm, I might mention this to my GP as my foot seems to alternate between going out and in - very odd.

daisycake, that really doesn't matter! They are simply looking for a distinct reaction to the stimulus of the pen moving up your foot.

Don't worry about the direction.x