A protective, involuntary nerve reaction that causes muscles to contract. Bouncing or overstretching can trigger the reflex in which muscles are trying to protect themselves from damage.
The body’s automatic defensive action that stops the stretch action and protects against severe injury or abuse during stretching; see proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, Golgi tendon organ (GTO), and muscle spindle.
A stretch reflex is a muscle contraction in response to stretching within that muscle. It is a monosynaptic reflex which provides automatic regulation of skeletal muscle length.