Achilles Tendon Light Tap

The mean reflex conduction time for Achilles tendon light tap was 48.1ms, for Achilles tendon medium tap it was 125.25ms, and for Achilles tendon heavy was 167.5ms. The Reflex conduction velocity was calculated to be 28.15m/s for Achilles tendon light tap, 10.74m/s for Achilles tendon medium tap, and 8.02m/s for Achilles tendon heavy tap. According to the literature (Human Physiology An Integrated Approach 6th Ed pg. 339) the Achilles tendon light tap was 28.15m/s which was in the range between 12-30m/s which shows that it is associated with cold, fast pain and mechanical stimuli, this also shows that the fibre is small and myelinated. Fast pain is sharp and localized sensory information which is then transmitted to the central nervous system …show more content…
In the results it showed that the harder the force of the tap the slower the speed of the reflux conduction. The slight discrepancies in the results could have occurred due to various errors. One of the errors could have been the way the reflex hammer was applied in the experiment as the timing and strength of each tap were inconsistent which could have affecting the results. A way to improve this might be to have an apparatus which can consistently apply the hammer at a certain time and force without fluctuating. Another error which could have occurred was the subject’s leg might not have been completely relaxed. For the reflex time to be measured accurately the leg must be relaxed completely, if not the contraction strength will be lower due to tense muscles. Another error which could have occurred was then when applying the reflex hammer was a reflex would have occurred from an unwanted muscle which could have affected the results. There could have been calibration errors when using the apparatus and also measurement errors may have occurred when measuring the distance of the leg as there could have been