H Reflex

[tmh84]

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How common is it to find an ulnar nerve H reflex on an adult 27 year old patient? Is it even possible?

 

[Phantom Spike]

How common is it to find an ulnar nerve H reflex on an adult 27 year old patient? Is it even possible?

The H-reflex is routinely only tested in the tibial nerve. It is the electrical equivalent of a deep tendon reflex and involves the impulse traveling orthodromically up the Ia afferent sensory fibers, stimulating the gamma-motor neuron and then traveling orthodromically down the motor nerve, hence theoretically you should be able to get it by stimulating any motor nerve that subserves a reflex. The ulnar nerve does not subserve a commonly tested reflex, hence I doubt it would be easy to get an H-reflex there.

Why do you ask? Did you manage to obtain one?

 

[tmh84]

Thank you for your response. Actually I am a resident in training and I did get it on a patient while testing for the ulnar f wave. My attending who has been doing emgs for 25+ years retested it and got the same H reflex response. He than told me in all these years that was the first time he had seen one. I was considering getting it published and I am just trying to gather as much information as I can.
By the way do you know why children have H reflexes but adults tend to lose them?