The Ankle Reflex Trap — When Experience Becomes the Enemy

A hospitalist checks ankle reflexes on a patient with severe back pain. They're intact. The brain says cauda equina syndrome is unlikely. But intact reflexes have no validated role in ruling it out — and that single reassuring finding becomes the cognitive failure point in one of medicine's most litigated missed diagnoses. This episode reconstructs the decision chain behind delayed CES diagnosis, the exam findings that falsely reassure, and the one bedside test that can change your clinical calculus in two minutes. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecharteddefense.substack.com/subscribe