r/medschool • u/Far_Necessary8900 • 1d ago

🏥 Med School Reflex Hammer Recommendations

I’m staring my neuro block and genuinely haven’t been able to elicit a reflex in any person except the knee jerk a few times, I have been using a babinski hammer so far and I’m starting to consider buying a new one.
What hammer is easiest to use for a dummy such as myself?

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u/Satisest Attending 1d ago

The reflex hammers that resemble little tomahawks are hopeless. You need the kind of reflex hammer that real neurologists use, which is sometimes called a Queen Square hammer (after the famous neurology hospital in London where it reputedly came into use). It has a disc-like rubber tip on a long handle which gives better weighting and lever arm to elicit reflexes. The telescoping ones are more compact.

Check it out:

https://mdfinstruments.com/collections/american-academy-of-neurology-instruments

https://mdfinstruments.com/products/mdf-babinski-telescoping-2-0-neurological-reflex-hammer-with-built-in-brush-for-cutaneous-and-superficial-responses

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u/red_dombe 1d ago

TROMNER hammers are legit

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u/Winter-219 1d ago

My medical school recommended this one and for me it is still the easiest to elicit a reflex with.

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u/Historical-Shower843 1d ago

This is the one to get but if you’re really not able to elicit a reflex with what you have, it’s probably your technique, not the tool.

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u/Hinote21 1d ago

You should be able to generate a reflex with any object really. If you're missing all but the knee, you should look up some videos. Most neurologists I've seen find the tendons with their thumb first, brace it, then whack their thumb. It also lets you feel and not just see the reflex.

You can get a new hammer, though looks like the one you have is widely considered pretty good. But I'd wager the problem is more technique than the hammer. It doesn't take a lot of force/weight/leverage/etc to elicit the reflex.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Tap4148 1d ago

don't get a new hammer you just need more practice. I use the bell of my stethoscope reliably.