Reflex in physiology is the reaction of a living being to any effect. Throughout the life of an organism, reflexes play a key role in its development, adaptation to environmental conditions and ensuring normal life. In this case, one of the main, if not the most important, are the reflexes of newborns, on which the development of the child in the first months of life depends. One of the most important is the Landau reflex in newborns. Let us consider in more detail what it is.
Newborn Reflexes
So, reflexes allow the child to adapt to an aggressive environment. Moreover, their formation largely depends on the state of the environment in which the fetus is formed (i.e., on the mother’s body). If during the prenatal development harmful factors influenced the body of the child and / or mother too much, the baby may be born with pathologies, due to which reflexes will begin to slow down or be absent. Thus, newborn reflexes are important indicators of a child’s developmental level. Like any others, reflexes of newborns are divided into unconditioned (congenital) and conditioned (acquired).
Conditioned reflexes
Reflexes are called conditional, which are acquired by the child directly along with new knowledge, skills and life experience. Unlike the unconditional, most of them are individual in each person, therefore, are more complex. This is ensured by the individuality of life experience and its perception in each individual. Nevertheless, due to the unity of the formation mechanisms, extremely similar sets of reflex reactions can develop in different people. Some examples related to newborns:
- When breastfeeding at certain hours for about a week, the baby begins to form reflex agitation of hunger before taking milk.
- When feeding the baby in the same position for two weeks, a certain reaction also begins to form in the baby. If you take the baby in his arms in the feeding position, he will begin to make sucking movements.
Congenital Reflexes
Congenital reflexes help the newborn to survive in the initial stages and form acquired ones, allowing a more diverse response to various environmental factors. Some of the innate reflexes remain forever; others fade over time.
Unconditioned reflexes of infants are divided into segmental (provide nutrition and basic movements) and suprasegmental (regulate muscle tone, based on the position of the body and head). In turn, segmental are divided into oral and spinal reflexes.
Oral. Allow the baby to eat. These include:
- Sucking.
- Swallowing.
- Proboscis.
- Palmar-oral.
- Search.
Spinal. Responsible for the formation of the muscle apparatus. Represented by the following reflexes:
- Protective reflex of the baby.
- Reflex support, straightening and automatic walking.
- Reflex crawl.
- Grasping reflexes.
- Hug reflex.
- Reflex Galant.
- Reflex Perez.
Supersegmental include:
- Asymmetric cervical tonic reflex.
- Symmetrical tonic cervical.
- Tonic labyrinth.
Some reactions form several months after birth and die away at later moments in life. These include:
- Labyrinth installation reflex.
- Cervical rectifying reaction.
- Trunk straightening reaction.
- Right body reflex.
- Protective hand response.
- Reflex Landau.
- Straightening and equilibrium reactions.
It is very important to know if babies have the reflexes described above. A delay in the appearance of these reflexes may indicate the presence of abnormalities in the development of the child. About the same says their later attenuation.
Landau's reflex in newborns
It is an important indicator of the level of physical development of the child, as well as the presence / absence of severe nervous diseases. Landau reflex is a key element in the gradual establishment of the vertical position of the child’s body and its preparation for upright posture. The first signs of the formation of this reflex are observed from two months, but it is most pronounced later, at five or six. The fading of the reflex occurs in the second year of life. The Landau reflex consists of phases formed at different stages of life, also called the upper (first phase) and lower reflexes (second phase) Landau. The absence of these reflexes and the delay in their formation indicate problems in the development of the nervous system.
- The upper Landau reflex is formed in a child aged five to six months. It provides lifting of the upper half of the body, extension of the arms and neck. To identify it, it is necessary to put the baby with his stomach on the edge of the table so that his chest is over the edge. In this position, extension of the back, neck and arms should occur. Sometimes, due to the action of the protective reflex of the newborn, the child's head can turn to the side. Over time, the Landau upper reflex disappears. The child should be able to stay in this position for one to two minutes.
- The lower Landau reflex forms later, at eight to ten months, and is a complicated version of the upper reflex. To identify it, the doctor takes the child in his arms or puts him on a flat surface so that his pelvis and legs have no support underneath. In this case, a healthy and developed child will raise the lower extremities and may bend his back in an arc.
When checking the upper and lower Landau reflex in an infant, the doctor should pay close attention to the severity of its manifestations. So, during the first phase, the child's head should be on the midline. The same can be said about the position of the legs during the second phase. Holding a reflex posture should last at least a minute. If these conditions are not met, it is recommended to undergo a more in-depth examination for the presence of birth injuries and developmental disabilities. A photo of the Landau reflex is presented below.
No reflex
The absence of manifestations of this reflex clearly indicates the presence of certain violations in the development of the child. In this case, it is recommended to conduct stimulation of the reflex using a special training.
In addition, a survey is urgently needed, as a similar picture is observed, including in cerebral palsy (cerebral palsy), which occurs as a result of brain damage at the time of its development.
Reflex stimulation
The most effective will be the stimulation of the Landau reflex in children with the ball. There are several principles for stimulation:
- The child needs to be laid on the ball down with his stomach and massage at the paravertebral points of various parts of the spine.
- At the same time, the second person shakes the ball slightly, paying attention to the position of the limbs and shoulder blades.
- It is necessary to pay the attention of the child to any object located above the level of his head.
- It is advisable to conduct classes in front of the mirror in order to fix the child's position diagram optically.
The exercise for practicing the first phase is repeated 3-4 times, each for 30-90 s.
Before developing the second phase, it is necessary to verify the functional activity of the gluteal muscles, as well as the consistency of extension and abduction of the hips. The principles of stimulation of the second phase are as follows:
- Before the exercise, it is necessary to conduct a deep massage of the buttocks. In parallel with this, a relaxing massage is performed on the same muscles.
- Then begin the alternate study of hip extension in position on the abdomen.
- It is recommended to conduct training using brush and stroke massage of the buttocks.
- Finally, the reflex is directly trained from a position on the edge of the table, with legs down.
The complete completion of the formation of the reflex is possible only in the case of the appearance of lordosis in the lumbar region, and extensor tone of the pelvic muscles.
Diagnosis of cerebral palsy
As mentioned above, the absence of the Landau reflex is one of the signals of the possible presence of cerebral palsy. Therefore, it is necessary to have an idea of ​​other signs of this disease.
Depending on the degree of damage to the brain of the child, the symptoms of cerebral palsy are manifested in different ways. Summarizing the picture of the disease, the following key signs of pathology can be distinguished:
- Muscle tension (including spasmodic) throughout the body.
- Violations when moving.
- Reduced mobility.
Also, signs of cerebral palsy vary depending on the age of the child. It must be borne in mind that this pathology does not progress, due to the point damage of the brain area. The illusion of deterioration is caused by the fact that at different ages the symptoms may be less noticeable due to the child not attending preschool institutions and the inability to walk. The signs of the disease in infants of different ages are as follows:
- In newly born children, signs of paralysis are movement disorders. So, a baby with cerebral palsy can move the limbs of only one side of the body, while the opposite ones are pressed to the body. There are problems when turning the head or spreading the legs of the child. When you try to get a clenched fist in your mouth, turn your head in the opposite direction.
- At the age of a month, a child with paralysis is usually restless, does not smile, does not hold his head, does not focus his eyes on any one subject. Swallowing and sucking reflexes are often difficult, involuntary tremors and cramps occur.
- At the age of three months, a child with cerebral palsy retains congenital (absolute) reflexes that should have disappeared by this age. These include the palmar, step and other similar reflexes. The child is still not able to hold his head and does not try to roll over.
- At four months, a healthy child is actively moving, smiling, reacting to his mother. At the same time, a child with cerebral palsy is sluggish, often holding objects with one hand.
- At six months, healthy children most often can independently hold their heads, crawl and turn over, swallow from a spoon and a mug, pronounce individual syllables. In children with paralysis, problems with the above actions are observed, weakness, sleep problems, anxiety, and increased muscle tone are present.
- At the age of nine months, a child with cerebral palsy, unlike a healthy one, is not able to hold objects in his hands for a long time, does not show a desire to walk, sits badly and often falls to his side. In the case of normal development during this period, he moves independently, tries to rise, tries to pronounce syllables and words, name his favorite toys.
With all this, it must be clearly understood that the above signs do not indicate the presence of cerebral palsy in a child with a 100% probability. However, their presence clearly indicates developmental problems. Therefore, when these signs appear, you should immediately go to the doctor! Fortunately, according to statistics, more than half of children with paralysis identified and subjected to treatment procedures in the first year of life are able to arrange a normal life and almost do not differ from their peers.
Forms of cerebral palsy
The degree of damage to the nervous system can be different. Therefore, the manifestations of cerebral palsy can be completely different. Depending on the clinical kratin, several forms of this pathology are distinguished:
- Hyperkinetic form. If the muscle tone of the child is different at different times, he is given this diagnosis. In the normal state, awkward, and sweeping, sometimes uncontrollable movements are observed. There are hearing and speech disorders. Mental work is not disturbed.
- Atonic-astatic form. With this form, muscle tone is so low that the child is not able to sit or stand. The development of intelligence occurs with delays, oligophrenia is often diagnosed. This variant of cerebral palsy develops in case of damage to the frontal lobes and cerebellum.
- Spastic diplegia. The most common form. Muscle function is severely impaired. Legs are affected more. Deformation of the joints and spine. Disturbances in speech, psyche, and vision are clearly expressed. However, with timely and sufficient rehabilitation measures, the child is able to adapt to life in society.
- Spastic tetraparesis (tetraplegia). It is caused by damage to most parts of the brain. There are paralysis in all limbs, epilepsy and impaired mental development. There are problems with hearing, vision and movement.
- Atactic form. It is rare. It manifests itself in a violation of coordination of movements and maintaining equilibrium. Often there are tremors and moderate mental retardation.
- Spastic-hyperkinetic (dyskinetic) form. In this case, a combination of high muscle tone and uncontrolled movements with various forms of paralysis are observed. Mental development by vulgarity is age-appropriate.
- Hemiplegic form. It is characterized by paralysis of only one side of the body (the so-called hemiparesis). An increased muscle tone on the affected side is also observed. Involuntary movements also occur. Disorders in mental development and epilepsy are observed.
Reasons for the development of cerebral palsy
The main reason for the development of cerebral palsy in children is pathological abnormalities in the development of the brain. There are many factors that can influence the formation of such a problem. Here are some of them:
- The presence of infections in the mother’s body throughout the entire period of bearing a child (most often we are talking about toxoplasmosis, herpes, etc.).
- Impaired brain formation during embryonic development.
- Incompatibility of the blood of the mother and the child, caused by the difference in the Rh factors. Causes hemolytic disease of the newborn.
- Oxygen starvation of the fetus. It can be caused by the incorrect position of the fetus, difficult birth, entanglement of the umbilical cord around the neck.
- Somatic and hormonal diseases of the mother.
- Long and difficult births that caused injury to the child.
- The defeat of the mother's body by toxins, diseases affecting the brain of the child.
As a rule, the leading role in the formation of paralysis belongs to oxygen starvation in combination with other causes that enhance its effect.
Therapy of cerebral palsy
Treatment of cerebral palsy should be started immediately after the detection of the disease. This will help the child to adapt as much as possible to life in society. Treatment consists of the following set of measures:
- Physiotherapy. A set of daily physical exercises matched with a doctor.
- Massage. Special massage for cerebral palsy, performed only by a specialist.
- Drug treatment. In cerebral palsy, vitamin complexes, drugs to improve metabolism, neuroprotectors (prevent damage to neurons) and drugs for muscle relaxation (muscle relaxants) are used.
- Speech therapy work. Lets put the child’s speech.
- Operations. They are carried out only at an older age, with the failure of other methods of treatment. Most operations are performed to improve joint mobility.
- Taping. Using a special patch. It is attached for several days to reduce pain and increase the mobility of a certain part of the body.
Prevention of brain development disorders
Based on the above picture of cerebral palsy, the prevention of such pathologies becomes particularly relevant. Unfortunately, no one is safe from accidents, such as tugging of the neck with an umbilical cord or an injury during childbirth, however, there are measures to reduce the likelihood of developing such pathologies due to environmental factors.
- Mandatory for the mother is a healthy lifestyle, which includes proper nutrition, sufficient physical activity, hygiene, the prevention of stress and disease, the refusal of bad habits.
- It is necessary to protect the future mother as much as possible from contacts with chemicals, if necessary, change her place of residence to a more favorable one from an environmental point of view.
Following these simple tips will significantly increase the likelihood of having a healthy baby.