Tendon guard reflex

Clinic

• The tendon guard reflex is important for survival/ protection and development.
• When not integrated the reflex can keep the child either in constant motion or immobilized in a posture of withdrawal and search for safety.
• It is an automatic whole body reaction to a message from the brain-stem.
• Under threat, the body has three choices: freeze, fight, or flight.
• In the “freeze” response the abdominal, shoulder, and neck muscles contract. This can be a sudden, unexpected sound, sight. It causes complete stillness and a quieting the body while activating vision and hearing to locate possible danger. This helps us to narrow the field of attention, movement, and action, to concentrate on and analyses details when in danger.
• The tendon guard reflex causes spinal muscle contraction, getting us ready to move, initially and it helps infants contract their spinal muscles. Eventually, the muscles allow standing, walking, and posture control develops.
• The mature reflex also enables individuals to widen the field of vision, movement, and action, to see the “big picture,” to act and to foresee consequences.
• When tendon guard reflex is not integrated there can be a narrow attention field and limited ability to act.
• Behaviour becomes compulsive, over-focused on unimportant details. When not integrated, movement development, sensory integration, attention, organization, comprehension, and overall cognitive development can be affected. Children can be withdrawn or hyperactive and inappropriate risk takers.
• It is seen in ASD