Babinski test?

Question

i recently posted a question about medical issues i'm having,i went to the dr. today and he performed the Babinski test(plantar reflex) this is the test where he moves something down the sole of my feet.i had an indifferent response.meaning no response.my toes didnt move at all. they did lasttime i had a physical which was about 3yrs ago(i don't have insurance)they moved like they were suppossed to then.my dr.seems concerned about this should i be? he has ordered a whole lot of tests now. i have been having probs. with lower head/neck pain,memory probs.,dropping things,my body seems to twitch or shake,i've had 2 fainting spells now,and the list goes on!i'm only 30yrs old and until the past year have been healthy.lately i stay sick,fatigued and have mood changes. i also either miss a period or am late.please help! what does no reaction to the Babinski test mean?

Answer 1

Its a general test used to check how your nerves are conducting to your legs. I have nerve damage from an auto accident, and they check alot. If they were concerned about the way you reacted in that test they are probably checking for several different things. One thing that comes to mind is MS or nerve damage from an injury, or theres other things that can cause those types of issues. Sorry to sound pessimistic but the symptoms sound si milar to ms.Good luck and I hope they have an answer for you soon.

Answer 2

Strictly speaking, the Babinski response is extension of the great toe with fanning out of the smaller toes when the bottom of the foot is stroked a certain way. That response is considered to be never normal, and indicates pyramidal tract dysfunction. There are variations on the test - you can find descriptions of Oppenheimer's, Chaddock's, Bing's signs in older neurology text books, but they all are interpreted in the same way. In English, it means something is wrong with the functional connection from the motor part of the cerebral cortex - either somewhere in the brain itself or in the spinal cord along the way. For technical reasons, this is called the "upper motor neuron."

Normally, the toes go down (plantar flexion)in response to the stimulus. In disorders involving the "lower motor neuron" (for example, compression of a spinal nerve root or any sort of neuropathy), you do NOT get a Babinski sign (upgoing toes). The response may be normal (downgoing) or absent. If the response is absent, it could be that the S1 nerve root or nerves in the lower extremity which derive from that are damaged somehow. The ABSENCE of a toe response is less significant than the presence of the Babinski sign itself.

Answer 3

Babinski Reflex Test

Answer 4

I would think that he is looking to rule out a neurological disease such as MS, ALS, Guillian Barre, etc. I'm not sure which of these would produce the changes in the Babinski but it would be crazy if he didn't look into them considering your other symptoms. I suggest asking him, point blank, what he is thinking, what conditions is he testing for, what is the significance of an indifferent Babinski reflex. Keep in mind that he is under an obligation to test for a whole s**tload of conditions whether he REALLY believes you have them or not. He has to cover all the bases. Try not to get worried about things until you have some answers. Don't be afraid to ask questions of your dr's and don't let them brush your concerns under the rug. You have to be aggressive with your health care or you will remain in the dark.

Answer 5

No response to this test means that neurological signals from your foot are not being passed through the spine, or they are not being processed in the brain. You cannot tell from this test what might be causing the problem, but lack of a response indicates something is wrong somewhere. So, the next step is to look for other indicators to narrow down the possible causes. There are so many possibilities, that there is no point in even speculating what is wrong at this point. However, neurological problems are always a cause for concern because so many of them seriously affect a person's ability to perform certain tasks, and tumors are sometimes caught very early because of this test.

Answer 6

We use the Babinski test in pre-hospital medicine too, well we did in the old days working on an ambulance. It really doesn't prove anything, or disprove it. As I understand it, the Babinski response isn't reliable enough to use on a regular basis. Some old diehard paramedics and doctors still use it though. Don't worry about this. Continue on your medical care, and I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 7

Your toes should turn inward as a healthy response. If this isn't happening you can have problems with your spin or your brain.
It sounds like you do have some serious issues with the memory problems and the shakes. If your toes don't move at all, it is not the worst effect, if they were to shoot out or up, that's when it's really bad. But, your doctor should be ordering cat scans and an MRI.
This is not something to ignore, catch problems early and you can find out what is really wrong with you. Check on line on a health site for more info.

Answer 8

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RE:
Babinski test?
i recently posted a question about medical issues i'm having,i went to the dr. today and he performed the Babinski test(plantar reflex) this is the test where he moves something down the sole of my feet.i had an indifferent response.meaning no response.my toes didnt move at all. they did...

Answer 9

I have no response to that test either, never had that I remember. No one said there was a problem. The one time they did that test I was in the hospital at the time.

Answer 10

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Blondini22 is correct. This coupled with your memory loss suggests a lesion at the area of your frontal lobe (immediately behind your forehead). All those tests are probably just for him to figure out what is causing it (tumor, neural deficit, thrombosis etc.).