Positive Babinski in Adult Trauma - Essay Example

"Positive Babinski in Adult Trauma" is a wonderful example of a paper on diagnostic tests. To stimulate the Babinski’s reflex, the physician hits the foot’s lateral plantar surface from the heel to the toes with the handgrip of the reflex hammer. The positive Babinski diagnosis in adults exhibits ‘extension of the first toe with abduction and flexion of the other toes’ (Faiz, Blackburn, & Moffat, 2011, 197). A positive Babinski diagnosis is symptomatic of an upper motor injury from trauma. The cause of this injury can be diverse, nevertheless, a positive Babinski test will normally be the sole sign of disorder in the upper motor neuron (Faiz et al., 2011, 199), and will prompt a neurologist to take into account other neurological tests, like CT scans and MRIs to identify the root and medication.    

Furthermore, a positive Babinski test suggests a dysfunctional ‘pyramidal system’—the one that regulates all forms of voluntary movements in human beings. The pyramidal system is composed of the lower motor neurons and upper motor neurons. The lower motor neuron runs from the spinal cord to the legs’ or arms’ skeletal muscles (Lewis, 2004, 128). A positive Babinski sign may indicate damage in the lower motor neuron.     

An adult who is showing an indication of positive Babinski is probable to have a serious injury to the central nervous system. Nevertheless, as a medical assistant, this is simply one way of underlining this fact but must not alter a medical assistant’s treatment or handling of the patient (Lewis, 2004, 130). A neurosurgeon might consider a positive Babinski indication as well, alongside numerous other variables and examinations, when identifying probable choices for intensive care.

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