Palmar Grasp Reflex
The information presented on this webpage is printed with permission from Harkla.co
More facts about the Palmar Grasp Reflex
You know how infants basically have a death grip - they can grab your finger, your hair, your clothes - that’s the Palmar Reflex at work!
The Palmar Grasp Reflex is elicited by pressure to the infant’s palm, resulting in the fingers closing around the object that provided pressure, as well as gripping or holding on - that death grip!
The hands and the mouth are directly linked which means that the Palmar Grasp Reflex is also activated when the infant is nursing/drinking from a bottle.
You can often see this connection as the infant sucks - the hands will reflexively clench in coordination with the sucking.
This reflex completes the myelination of neural pathways used in hand and mouth movements, which aids the infant with suckling and eventually with speech, and fine motor movements
it is needed for hand-eye coordination, proper vision and direction/distance judgment
What is the Palmar Grasp Reflex?
Signs of a Retained Palmar Grasp Reflex in an older child or adult:
poor fine motor skills
opens and closes mouth or sticks out tongue when writing and drawing
dysgraphia (difficulties turning thoughts into written language)
poor handwriting
Retained Primitive Reflexes affect EVERYTHING
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Retained Primitive Reflexes affect EVERYTHING 〰️
How We Can Help
Both children AND adults can have Retained Primitive Reflexes
Dr. Melanie, Dr. Laurence and Dr. Leah have taken extra courses and seminars to learn how to assess and treat people with retained primitive reflexes
We will have you fill out a comprehensive intake form that will help us to focus on which reflexes might be retained
We will do a thorough chiropractic and neurological exam
We will make an individualized plan for you and/or your child that will include chiropractic adjustments and home exercises
These home exercises must be done twice a day for at least 30 days for your nervous system to integrate the retained primitive reflexesThen we will re-exam to assess and plan again
If you would like more information, or to
make an appointment with one of our Doctors,
please call us at 403-945-2422
To help integrate the Palmar Grasp Reflex, you will need to do
Every morning for 30 DAYS
20 repetitions of the Sequential Finger Touching exercise
20 repetitions of at least ONE FUN Exercise that you can choose from the second pdf download
(Of course, you can do as many of the fun exercises as you like!)
Every afternoon or evening for 30 DAYS
20 repetitions of the Sequential Finger Touching exercise
20 repetitions of at least ONE FUN Exercise that you can choose from the second pdf download
(Do as many of the fun exercises as you like!)
Here are your downloads for the Palmar Grasp Reflex Integration Exercises
Click Here to print the instructions for the Sequential Finger Touching exercise
Click Here to print the instructions for 5 Additional FUN Exercises you can choose from
Click Here to see videos of the 5 Additional FUN Exercises - click on the Palmar Grasp Functional Activities folder
Click Here to print a 30 days exercise Tracking Calendar
Exercises to Integrate
the Palmar Grasp Reflex
Examples of the Sequential Finger Touching Exercise that we’ve found on YouTube
Dr. Melanie, Dr. Laurence and Dr. Leah have taken many courses about retained primitive reflexes. One course, offered by Harkla, called Assessment and Integration of Primitive Reflexes Master Level was created by Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill, both occupational therapists
We have been given permission by them to post their very thorough information on our website and to give their handouts to our patients
