J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.  1999 Oct;23(5):993-999.

The Effects of Jendrassik Maneuver on the T-reflex and the H-reflex of Soleus Muscle

• Yoon TS
• Kim EJ
• Hwang JW
• Choi OC
• Lee JY

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of Jendrassik maneuver on latency and amplitude of the T-reflex and H-reflex of the soleus muscle in normal adults. METHOD: The T-reflex and H-reflex tests were performed on sixty normal adults with standardized technique using the soleus muscle. The shortest latency and the largest peak-to-peak amplitude were chosen for representative values.
RESULTS
The results were as follows: 1) There was a significant difference in latency of the T-reflex between with and without Jendrassik maneuver. 2) The increment ratio of the amplitude with Jendrassik maneuver was 88% in the T-reflex and 18% in the H-reflex. There were a significant difference in the amplitude of both reflexes between with and without Jendrassik maneuver. 3) A high correlation was present between the latency of H- & T-reflex and the length.
CONCLUSION
According to these results, we suggest that Jendrassik maneuver primarily increases the sensitivity of muscle spindles and decreases the presynaptic inhibition of the Ia terminals at cortical, subcortical and spinal levels. Jendrassik maneuver can be a useful tool in cases of clinically decreased or absent deep tendon reflex.

Keyword

Jendrassik maneuver; T-reflex & H-reflex of soleus

MeSH Terms

Adult
H-Reflex*
Humans
Muscle Spindles
Muscle, Skeletal*
Reflex
Reflex, Stretch