During human development, primitive reflexes are inhibited, giving way to postural reflexes involved in dealing with gravitational demands.
If primitive reflexes persist or there is a postural reflexes deficiency, it indicates a wrong functioning of our nervous system, and then we may present a sensorimotor difficulty while skiing. In addition, a skiing accident can cause the returning of certain primitive reflexes. If some of these remain active or with traces, we will spend much energy in counteracting them.
Primitive reflexes help us to grow properly but it may occur that, because of trauma or development restrictions, we may retain some of these immature or non-integrated reflexes. This means that, in some situations, our nervous system may act inappropriately affecting our skiing behavior and learning. If they are not fully integrated, we may reach what is called “reflex immaturity”, which may cause learning disabilities, sensory disorders, and lack of confidence.
Effects of Retained Reflexes
Moro reflex also called startle or alarm reflex, appears when the baby gets too many sensory stimuli at the same time, like sudden physical contact, abrupt noise, bright light or balance stimulation. As not having the capacity to decide if the situation is threatening, reacts extending the arms upwards and to the sides, bows the head backward, opens his hands, and bring the knees towards the stomach.
If this reflex is not integrated in time, it could lead to hyperactivity and the symptoms may be impulsive behavior, difficulty with new experiences or paying attention to everything around him. In adulthood, the person may react to sensory stimuli as if they were very intense (hypersensitivity) or be aggressive and unable to relax. The adult skier retaining the Moro reflex needs to be in control of the situation, constantly asking what will happen or what he will have to do next, having also difficulty in facing changes.
In the palmomental reflex, the hand or hands move at the same time when the baby activates chin muscles for suctioning. If this reflex is retained, the child may bite others, have a tight pencil grip, face and neck muscle tension or mouth opening and closing when using scissors. This reflex can also appear by tightening the jaw when holding hands at the steering wheel of a vehicle just before braking. It is observed in some skiers that, while having an exaggerated poles’ grip, at the same time they clinch their jaw.
Palmar or grasp reflex occurs when the baby’s palm closes to grip another person’s finger or object close to his hand. If retained in child or adulthood, the symptoms could be defective grip in writing, insufficient fine motor skill, inappropriate posture for computer writing or hands work. This reflex disappears at three or four months of age, but reminiscence could be impregnated in the nervous system, appearing in certain threatening situations in which the need of holding on to something or someone arises, as when a child holds an adult’s hand in an apprehensive situation. At skiing, it is commonly observed how this reflex appears in the beginner facing stressful sliding situations, exaggeratedly tightening up to his poles as an intention to hold on to something that gives a false sense of security or an ephemeral reassuring effect.
Plantar reflex is similar to palmar reflex, but occurs when sensing pressure on the outer side of the foot, it tends to bend and toes to close. When the child starts walking it is important to control his feet to properly develop the extensor response by pressing the ball of the foot against the ground. The retention symptoms of this reflex may be poor balance, difficulty in specific sports requiring precise balance, recurrent ankles sprain, difficulty at getting shoes on because toes tend to close, sore shins, etc. Although seen in the newborn, in adulthood may be an evolutionary residue that is used to retrieve balance or when the skier seeks to compensate for his lack of fine motricity by pressing the toes down the boot’s insole (claw toes), which may cause feet contractions or cramps.
The symmetric tonic neck reflex is activated when the baby’s head is extended, then the arms and legs do the same. If a baby is not placed on the belly to crawl, does not crawl enough or does it improperly, it may occur when growing up that he finds difficult to keep a proper and still posture when sitting. In general, this reflex makes that the upper half of the body tends to oppose to the bottom half. A skier with immature symmetrical tonic neck reflex feels very uncomfortable with all body parts flexed or extended, interfering in coordinated and rhythmic movements.
Asymmetric tonic neck reflex is observed when the baby turns his head to a side, the arm and leg of the same side extend while the arm and leg of the other side flex, presupposing this helps the baby during birth. This reflex collaborates in developing hand-eye coordination and in perceiving objects and distances. If this reflex is retained, then hand and vision tend to move together. Walking and turning the head to one side will lead to extending also the limbs of that side, interfering with balance and locomotion. Retaining this reflex in relation to skiing may lead to balance disturbances, poor hand-eye coordination, mixed laterality, poor use of both body sides, failure to estimate distances, and disorders in visual search development.
The tonic labyrinthine reflex involves the vestibular system and its interaction with other senses. If this reflex is retained, the child or adult may be prone to a weak muscle tone with excessive anterior flexibility (bending reflex), or an intense rigidity producing rough movements (extension reflex). Symptoms of the retained forward flexing reflex in the skier are, among others, poor posture, weak muscle tone, spatial perception problems, visual perception troubles, and scarce balance. Symptoms of this reflex in backward extension may be the tendency to have motion nausea, spatial perception problems, balance and coordination failures, or high muscle tone. Retention of both reflexes could be globally associated with lack of balance, difficulty to estimate speed, distance, or space, visual problems, and difficulty at coordinating movements or poor concentration.
Stepping reflex is observed when the baby is held seeking support with the feet on a firm surface and tries to walk. The heel reflex occurs when the Achilles tendon is hit and the foot reacts with plantar flexion. These two reflexes are essential for walking as they help to release muscle tension for ankle mobility. They also have a balancing function between the incoming feet and eye information to maintain balance and posture. There are people who retain both reflexes and symptoms could be, in the stepping reflex: walking (and skiing) lifting the heels, visual conflict because of horizon line alteration since the head is tilted down and the eyes up, and tension in calf muscles. In the heel reflex the symptoms are: walking (and skiing) sustaining strong heel support, balance problems, visual conflict because of horizon line alteration since the head leans backward and the eyes downwards, heel pain, and discomfort in the Achilles tendon.
Galant reflex is the reflex that helps the baby passing through the birth canal. It is produced when being touched on one side of the spine, causing the hip to rotate toward the side that has been touched, making the body to turn and bend towards the same side. If this reflex remains only on one side, it can affect posture when walking and cause scoliosis. If it is not fully integrated produces fatigue, difficulty coordinating posture, difficulty in remaining quiet when sitting, attentional difficulty, and lack of fluidity and mobility in physical activities.
On-Slope Examples of Retained Reflexes
| Concept Name | Academic Core | “On-Slope” Example |
| Moro reflex (Startle or alarm reflex) | An unintegrated survival reflex triggered by sensory overload or sudden balance shifts, causing a skier to flare their arms, pull their knees up, and reject environmental changes. | * Unexpectedly hitting a patch of heavy wind-crust snow, causing you to violently throw your arms out to the sides, lift your head up, and panic about losing control. |
| Palmomental reflex | An immature neurological link where intense hand or grip activity triggers involuntary, exhausting tension in the muscles of the chin and jaw. | * Grasping your ski poles with extreme, white-knuckled force while navigating a steep pitch, causing your jaw to clench so hard that your teeth and neck ache. |
| Palmar or grasp reflex | A primitive remnant where stressful sliding conditions trigger an involuntary, overwhelming urge to squeeze the hands tightly around an object for a false sense of security. | * Getting nervous on a steep, crowded intersection and squeezing your ski pole grips like a vice grip, completely locking up your wrists and forearms. |
| Plantar reflex | An evolutionary residue where balance uncertainty causes the toes to reflexively curl downward into a claw-like grip (claw toes), causing foot cramps and shin soreness. | * Feeling a minor slip on a hard-packed slope and instantly curling your toes downward inside your boots to “grip” the bottom of the ski. |
| Symmetric tonic neck reflex | An unintegrated developmental pattern where the upper half of the body automatically opposes the movements of the bottom half, destroying rhythm and coordination. | * Trying to bend your knees to absorb a bump, but your brain automatically forces your upper body to stand up straight, making your stance erratic and jerky. |
| Asymmetric tonic neck reflex | A primitive vestige where turning the head to one side automatically forces the arm and leg on that same side to extend, ruining balance, steering, and hand-eye coordination. | * Looking to the left to check for oncoming skiers at a trail intersection, which accidentally forces your left arm and left ski to stiffen and slide outward, causing a stumble. |
| Tonic labyrinthine reflex (Forward Flexing) | A vestibular-linked deficiency resulting in weak overall muscle tone, a severely slouched posture, poor spatial awareness, and weak balance on the snow. | * Skiing in a deeply collapsed, bent-forward “hunchback” posture with your chest dropped toward your knees, making it impossible to respond quickly to terrain shifts. |
| Tonic labyrinthine reflex (Backward Extension) | A vestibular-linked deficiency causing extreme, rigid muscle tone, motion sickness, poor distance estimation, and an uncontrollable habit of leaning backward (back-seat skiing). | * Looking down a steep run and experiencing instant motion sickness or dizziness, causing your spine to lock straight and your weight to drop heavily onto the tails of your skis. |
| Stepping reflex | An unintegrated developmental walking reflex that triggers calf muscle tension, causing a skier to lift their heels inside the boots and tilt their head down with eyes straining upward, altering the visual horizon line. | * Skiing down a pitch while subconsciously lifting your heels off your footbeds, causing extreme calf fatigue while your head tilts downward, forcing your eyes to painfully strain upward to see the trail ahead. |
| Heel reflex | An unintegrated Achilles tendon response that locks a skier into heavy, rigid heel support, causing severe heel/tendon pain, major balance failures, and a backward head lean with eyes straining downward. | * Getting stuck leaning far back on your ski tails, driving punishing pressure into your heels and Achilles tendons while your head tilts backward, causing your eyes to strain downward to track the snow. |
| Galant reflex | A primitive spinal reflex that, when unintegrated, causes a skier’s hips to involuntarily rotate and bend toward one side when the spine is stimulated or stressed, destroying athletic fluidity, posture, and core concentration. | * Initiating a turn sequence but experiencing a sudden loss of fluidity as your pelvis awkwardly jerks and rotates heavily to one side, leaving you feeling unbalanced and easily fatigued. |
According to these considerations, you can recognize the following aspects in your own skiing:
- If you react to sensory stimuli as if they were very intense or you are being aggressive and unable to relax when skiing, it may be a sign of activation of the alarm reflex.
- Having an excessive poles grip and, at the same time, clinching your jaw may be an indication of the palmomental reflex activation.
- Holding too tight to your poles, as a sign of the palmar reflex, will give you a false sense of security.
- An indication of the plantar reflex is when you seek to compensate the lack of fine motricity by pressing your toes down to the boot’s insole.
