Reflex Hammer

Our reflex hammers are designed to be balanced and effective and are custom molded into different animals. Our reflex hammers come with a clip so that you can easily attach them to any pocket, making them a hands-free accessory.

 Keep your pediatric patients entertained with a custom-molded, medical-grade reflex hammer! We've designed these hammers to look like animals and come with a clip so you can attach it to any pocket. Whether they're just starting to explore or have an injury, they'll be happy to see our animal-shaped hammers are here to keep them company!

The Reflex Hammer is used during physical, and neurological examinations. The reflex hammer is a crucial medical instrument to detect abnormalities in the central or peripheral nervous system, Tendon reflexes, and chest exams. Practitioners can integrate additional devices such as brushes or needles into the hammer handle or hammerhead. A sensitivity test can be carried out in addition to examining the reflexes.

The "Best" Reflex Hammers You Can Buy: The Ultimate Guide

When people or animals are hit slowly on specific areas, they have to react unconsciously as a reflex; The most common practice in humans is to measure reflexes by hitting a point on the knees. Reflex hammers are used during a neurological physical examination and have an important place in modern medicine for reflex testing; Today, medical stainless steel or chrome-plated material, two-way rigid PVC or hard rubber head is used, as well as some models are produced in accordance with CE norms with a compact needle and brush. In today's technology, reflex hammers provide the desired strength to be given easily during application to the knee or elbow part of the body, with the handle part that can be easily grasped by the hand. reflex hammers; 18 – 20 – 21 – 24 – 25 – 35 cm. up to its length and 60 – 250 gr. between weights.

Types of Reflex Hammers

• Buck reflex hammer: Small (approx. 18 cm) and light reflex hammer with two differently sized rubber inserts on both ends of the hammerhead. Also usually includes a brush and needle.
• A reflex hammer, according to Trömner: Is a relatively large (approx. 24 cm) and heavy hammer with two differently sized rubber inserts at both ends of the hammerhead. It has a high top-heaviness due to its hollow handle.
• A reflex hammer, according to Berliner: Is a tomahawk-like reflex hammer with a sickle-shaped rubber insert on one side.
• A reflex hammer according to Babinski: Reflex hammer with an elegant handle and a plate-shaped metal head surrounded by a rubber ring. The center of the metal head can be placed directly on the end of the handle or attached via an elbow.
• A reflex hammer according to Dejerine: Is a simple reflex hammer with two massive, equally sized rubber inserts on the hammerhead.
• Reflex hammer according to Taylor: Small, light reflex hammer with a continuous rubber wedge held by a metal ring as the hammerhead. It can have a solid or loop handle.
• Martin's reflex hammer: Similar to the Buck hammer but with an additional weight above the hammer handle.

Most reflex hammers have two differently sized rubber inserts on the head. The thicker rubber pole triggers the reflexes on the large tendons of the extensor muscles ( patellar tendon reflex, Achilles tendon reflex, and triceps tendon reflex ). In addition, it is suitable for deriving reflexes where selective pressure would be painful ( e.g., radius periosteal reflex ). The smaller rubber pole is used for the tendons of the flexor muscles (e.g., biceps tendon reflex ). The pointed metal spike on the hammer handle triggers the skin reflexes.

How to Pick the Best Pediatric Reflex Hammer for Your Clinic?

A reflex hammer is an essential tool for every pediatric clinic. Whether you are a nurse or a doctor, you need to have the right hammer for the job. You can choose the best pediatric reflex hammer from Pedia Pals’ collection.

Reflex Hammer History

Reflex Hammer; It was used for percussion by Scottish physician Sir David Barry in the early 1800s. It was first modeled after a chest percussion hammer designed by Henry Vernon of the Great Northern Hospital in 1858. German neurologist Wilhelm Heinrich Erb emphasized the detailed and systematic examination of the nervous system in 1870; by describing the diagnostic use of the percussion hammer for the patellar kneecap reflex in neurological tests; Along with the German psychiatrist Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal, he published the paper describing the various choices for elicit reflexes. As a result, neurologists have begun to use percussion hammers directly to elicit these muscle stretch reflexes, and different hammers have been developed specifically for this purpose.

The first official reflex hammer was created in 1888 by neurologist John Madison Taylor of the Philadelphia Orthopedic Hospital; The reflex hammer has a triangular rubber head and a short, flattened metal handle.

In 1894, American neurologist William Christopher Krauss designed a neurological percussion hammer that included modifications for testing sensation; He displayed his hammer at the 20th annual meeting of the American Neurological Society in Washington.

In 1910, German neurologist Bernhard Berliner was one of the most determined advocates of hammers; Due to the inability of percussion hammers to elicit muscle stretch reflexes with a paperweight, the edge of the electrode, the leg of a laboratory stand, a table lamp, or similar devices to strike the knee or Achilles tendon, various hammers have been specially developed. In the same year, German neurologist Ernst Trömner suggested that a pleximeter be placed on the patient's chest and lightly tapped while using a hammer during chest examination; however, most neurologists have found that tendons work best when struck directly. Dr. Trömner later discovered that with the development of the softer and refined technique of rubber striking surfaces, there was no need for a pleximeter.

In 1925, a nurse named Miss Wintle, the head nurse of physiotherapy and radiology was in charge of electrotherapy instruments at the National Hospital for Neurological Diseases, London; Associated with the design of a version of the Vernon hammer, originally 5 cm with plastic bumpers, attached to a brass disc, average 25 – 40 cm. It was started to be used by making a reflex hammer preferred by British neurologists, which was designed with a bamboo or cane handle of varying lengths.

In today's rapidly evolving world of modern medicine, it is used quite remarkably for such a simple piece of equipment.