title: The effects of skin brushing on H reflex amplitude in normal human subjects.
abstract: Experiments were performed on twenty-two neurologically normal subjects in order to investigate the effects of skin brushing on H reflex excitability in triceps surae. H reflex amplitude was observed to decrease during brushing of a 2 cm x 10 cm area of skin overlying triceps surae, returning to control levels when brushing ceased. Alterations in the duration of the brushing period did not affect the magnitude of the H reflex inhibition, although increased frequency of brush strokes per minute slightly increased the amount of inhibition observed. Brushing of smaller skin areas overlying the muscle only sometimes resulted in H reflex inhibition. Brushing over other skin areas of the lower limb produced only slight effects on triceps surae H reflex amplitude. Removal of cutaneous input from the skin overlying triceps surae abolished any effects of brushing in this area on H reflex amplitude. These results demonstrate an inhibitory effect of brushing on H reflex excitability in normal subjects. If such results are confirmed in subjects with neurological deficit, they could have implications for the use of brushing in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. l.wood2@gcal.ac.uk
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Nicol
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Thulin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D012016:Reference Values; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D013997:Time Factors