The detachment reflex is a reflex activity that occurs when an external force pulls and elongates an innervated skeletal muscle, causing a contraction of the pulled muscle, which can also be referred to as the extensor reflex.
The detachment reflex occurs when the muscle spindle is the receptor and the extra-spinous muscle is the effector. There are two types of detachment reflexes, dynamic and static, which are also known as tendon reflexes and muscle tension reflexes.
The dynamic detachment reflex is faster and causes very strong contractions of muscle fibers in the pulled muscle, which can cause rapid changes in the length of the antagonist muscle; the static detachment reflex is slower and opposes the force that causes the muscle to over-tension.
The detachment reflex is an essential reflex process in the human body, as it is the basis for clinical assessment of the structural and functional status of the nervous system and, secondarily, helps to maintain the body’s standing posture.