What is hyperreflexia?

Hyperreflexia is when your body’s reflexes become super strong and react more than usual.

Imagine you're playing a game where every time someone taps your knee with a ruler, you kick your leg really high, like you’re jumping over a hurdle! That's kind of what hyperreflexia feels like. Your legs (or other body parts) kick or move extra hard when they're touched, because the messages in your brain are getting sent super fast.

Your body has special message senders called nerves. When something touches your knee, the nerve sends a signal to your brain, and then your brain sends a signal back, telling your leg to kick! In hyperreflexia, this message goes really quickly, making your leg react faster and stronger than normal.

Think of your reflexes like a tight rubber band. When you stretch it just right, it snaps back nicely. But if you stretch it way too much, like when the rubber band is super tight, it snaps back really fast and hard. That's kind of what happens in hyperreflexia: your body’s signals are stretched too far, so they snap back with more energy!