Stretch reflex variation in the relaxed and the pre-activated quadriceps muscle of normal humans.

The stretch reflex to patellar tendon taps was quantified by force measurements at the ankle in 7 normal subjects. In each experiment the stretch reflex was elicited from 14 consecutive stretches by two types of hammers (an ordinary hand-held hammer and a motorized hammer) in the relaxed and the pre-activated quadriceps muscle. The coefficient of variation for the 14 stretch reflexes fell from 54% in the relaxed muscle to 39% in the contracting muscle (p less than 0.05). The stretch reflex varied less between the different levels of active contraction than between the relaxed state and the contracted level (p less than 0.05). The experiment was repeated in all subjects and at all contraction levels. The coefficient of variation of the mean for the two experiments fell non-significantly from a mean value of 27% in the relaxed muscle to 14% in the contracting muscle. The coefficients of variation for the two hammers were almost identical. It is concluded that quantification of the stretch reflex can be made more precisely in the contracting muscle.