The reverse myotatic reflex it is an automatic physiological response that causes a muscle under great tension to relax. Is named reverse because it is the antagonistic response of the myotatic reflex.
Contrary to the reverse myotatic reflex, the myotatic reflex causes the automatic contraction of a muscle in response to a forced stretch. Both are monosynaptic reflexes, this means that a single muscle group responds to the stimulus without involving complex movements.
The reverse myotatic reflex is activated as a defense mechanism of the body against some stimulus that the brain interprets as a danger to the integrity of the muscle. The signals that are sent from the muscle to the brain to activate the reverse myotatic reflex, travel from a specialized neurological formation located in the tendons. This structure is called the Golgi tendon organ..
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Reflex is the automatic response of a part of the body to a specific stimulus. This answer usually refers to a movement, but they can be of another type. For example, when salivary glands expel saliva at an acid odor.
So reflexes are automatic internal responses to external stimuli and can help establish the state of consciousness of an individual who is in a coma..
Reflexes occur by complex neural connections that cause stimuli to travel from the stimulated area to the cerebral cortex. Once there, the brain processes the information and sends a response back to the stimulated area..
There are several types of reflections. Among them are the osteotendinous reflexes, also called deep or myotatic reflexes..
These types of reflexes are widely known since many of them are evaluated as part of the physical examination performed by a doctor for general medical consultation..
The myotatic reflex is a stretch reflex. This means that the stimulus that triggers it is the sudden and excessive stretching of a tendon, the response being the contraction of the muscle.
On the contrary, in the reverse myotatic reflex the stimulus is the contraction and overload of the tendon, resulting in the relaxation of the muscle..
These stimuli are received by a special structure that is located in the tendons and is called the Golgi tendon organ..
Also known as the neuro-tendon spindle, the Golgi tendon organ is a specialized neurological formation that contains motor neurons. It is located in the tendons of all muscles and reacts through reflex responses to some stimuli.
The Golgi tendon organ is the neurological structure that is responsible for transmitting stimuli through the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex..
Finally, it is the cerebral cortex that processes this information and sends the corresponding signals.
The reverse myotatic reflex is a defense mechanism of the body that prevents injury to the muscle that is subjected to great overload. Thus, when the muscle is in forced contraction, that signal is sent through the spinal cord and receives the response to relax..
This response is a special mechanism that prevents an overloaded muscle from being injured..
When we refer to monosynaptic response reflexes, we are talking about those reflexes in which a response of a single muscle group occurs to a specific stimulus of that tendon..
The reverse myotatic reflex, as part of the tendon reflexes, is an example of a monosynaptic response.
The physician obtains the monosynaptic response easily by examining the patient with the hammer, specially designed to evaluate reflexes..
When a forced contraction stimulus reaches the specialized neurons located in the Golgi organ of a tendon, they send the signal to the spinal cord receiving a relaxation message from the specific muscle group.
The polysynaptic response is a more complex response that is not limited to just one muscle group, but involves many.
The myotatic reflex and the reverse myotatic reflex are important in the clinical evaluation. Through the response obtained by the physical examination of the reflexes, the doctor can make the diagnostic approach of various diseases.
The reflex can be exacerbated, weak, slow, or very fast. Based on these responses, it is possible to begin to establish whether the patient has a neurological disease that has affected the neuronal response to stimuli..
Pathological reflexes associated with myotatics, such as the razor reflex, may also occur..
The razor reflex is a pathological response to extreme stretching of a muscle. When performing the extension movement, the muscle is stimulated by increasing its tone. This stimulus is captured by the Golgi organ of the tendon, which sends the signal and finally causes the muscle to contract..
It's called a razor reflex because the movement occurs abruptly, just like the stimulus that triggered it.
The reverse myotatic reflex is especially important in athletes, specifically runners and weightlifters. These types of athletes, especially when they are high-performance athletes, seek to take their muscle loads to the extreme in order to improve their marks.
For runners, it is recommended to do special warm-ups before doing a long and forced exercise that is likely to keep the muscles contracting for a long time.
Both the stretches that stimulate the myotatic reflex, and the runs that can stimulate the reverse myotatic reflex, are activities that should be done frequently, since the continuous stimulation helps to increase the stress capacity that the muscle can support..
Weightlifters are also looking to increase the amount of weight they can lift to reach their maximum goals. The only way to achieve this without injuring the muscles is to increase the weights progressively.
In these activities, great attention should be paid to exercise and not sudden forced movements, as they can trigger difficult-to-treat responses that can become disabling..
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