Explaining Hyperreflex & Jerky Ankles

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WellsFive

Well-known member
ok so I was an idiot and decided to look through my nuero's notes and saw that at a couple of appoitments my notes stated hyper reflex and mild jerky ankles. This really upset me, can someone please explain this is not an al's symptom and if any of u had this on ur reports. I have seen allot of people on here with brisk reflex seems like but the jerky ankles? this scares me :(
 
I've never seen my notes, but I'm assuming they are peppered with the words "brisk" and "insane." how long ago was this report? Are you still able to walk, hold a fork, and talk? No ALS for you.Take care!Becky
 
thanks so much Becky for taking the time to post. it was actually the hyper jerky ankles on my last visit in nov, 2011. The other reports showed mostly 2 plus reflexes what is that? Also the one brisk reflex was early on, mabye even back in 2009. I just feal almost bummed seeing these notes, I wish I hadn't looked :(
 
Rate the reflex with the following scale:5+ Sustained clonus4+ Very brisk, hyperreflexive, with clonus3+ Brisker or more reflexive than normally.2+ Normal1+ Low normal, diminished0.5+ A reflex that is only elicited with reinforcement0 No response
 
Hi there. Jerky ankles is simply referring to the Achilles tendon reflex test. This is when ur dr tapped that tendon while holding your foot up. It's just a reflex and many things impact them. 2+ is fine. You shouldn't be nervous about this in isolation.If you went to the doctor with foot drop, reflexes off the chart which were not symmetrical, and twitching in one limb then that would be not good...but even that could be caused by other factors...The key is weakness. ALS is a disease of weakness. That weakness is profound. An ex coworker had a friend who died of ALS. Her first symptom was an inability to type. She was so weak she couldn't lift her fingers.Unless ur doc told you to be concerned I wouldn't be.U r ok
 
I think I have the spazziest ankles on the planet. If the wind blows on my Achilles tendon, my foot jerks. My children have a knack for kicking the back of my foot whenever we are seated somewhere and that jerking makes me NUTS! Its been going on for years though, so I'm pretty sure I'm good. You are too ;)
 
Ashley,Let's also consider the state of mind someone like you or me is in when we go into the neurologist's office. My fight or flight instinct is kicked into high gear whenever I'm in the vicinity of someone with the letters MD behind their name and I'm sure yours is too. It takes us from a normal state of awareness into hyper-ninja mode....meaning our reflexes are going to be a bit exaggerated. I know when I visited my neurologist the poor man was trying to test my reflexes but every time he laid a hand on me I flinched and cringed. He said he'd never seen someone so edgy. Remember also that what we look at on a medical report that scares the you-know-what out of us reads totally different to a professional. Believe me, if he'd have thought there was anything of note much less anything to be concerned about he would have told you. ;) Frances
 
mark, frances, Rd, and becky thanks so much. I guess I just got a little nervous seeing those notes, suggustion for newbies don't read yours LOL. I had never read up on reflexes, ankle jerks. I really appreciate you telling me more about this, just needed a little clearer picture of what it means. Thank you thank you, Ashley
 
Ashley, you should know better than to read those notes and try to second guess the diagnosis based on your limited understanding of the subject. The bottom line is that if your neuro saw any cause for concern then you would have known!
 
I actually have my report here from my specialist. My reflexes were 3+ (both legs and arms).I shared this with Robynn but I think it's worthwhile to post this on the board, too. I was recently at my primary care doctor and had a general clinical (strengh tests, reflexes, etc). She is quite good, she is the doctor doctors use, she found my mom's breast cancer and has kept her going through advanced liver cirrhosis for years.We got into a discussion about reflexes and she said brisk reflexes are very common and then she described ankle clonus to me in laymen's terms, saying that people have repetitive "beats" of their ankle sometimes..I said "Clonus?" and she yes and that she sees it quite often and it's actually common in healthy people. She said it's much more obvious when someone has something wrong like MS/etc.So if any of you have brisk reflexes or clonus, try not to sweat it too much :)
 
thanks dan, I emailed my dr as you know I would. His response was this: Ashley I'm not worried about your jerky ankles. Thats all he put.................
 

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