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Effect of cooling foot sole skin receptors on achilles tendon reflex
Author(s) -
Germano Andresa M.C.,
Schlee Günther,
Milani Thomas L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.24994
Subject(s) - achilles tendon , ankle jerk reflex , plantar flexion , reflex , soleus muscle , medicine , anatomy , h reflex , tibial nerve , tendon , foot (prosody) , flexor digitorum longus , gastrocnemius muscle , anesthesia , ankle , stimulation , skeletal muscle , linguistics , philosophy
: This study investigated whether a controlled reduction of foot sole temperature affects the Achilles tendon stretch reflex and plantar flexion. Methods Five stretch reflexes in 52 healthy subjects were evoked by Achilles tendon taps. Short latency responses of 3 muscles of the lower limb and maximal force of plantar flexion were analyzed. Foot sole hypothermia was induced by a thermal platform at various foot temperature conditions: Stage I (25°C), Stage II (12°C), Stage IIIa (0°C), and Stage IIIb (0°C). Results Reduction of plantar cutaneous inputs resulted in a decrease in amplitude of medial gastrocnemius and soleus as well as delays in time to maximal force of plantar flexion. Medial gastrocnemius, lateral gastrocnemius, and soleus were affected differently by induced cooling. No inhibition effects in reflexes were observed at 12°C. Conclusions The results suggest that input on the plantar foot sole participates complementarily in the Achilles stretch reflex Muscle Nerve , 2015. Muscle Nerve 53 : 965–971, 2016