Examine knee and ankle reflexes—a tap with a tendon hammer on the patellar ligament (tendon) tests reflexes at the L3–L4 spinal levels, and tapping the calcaneal tendon tests reflexes at the S1–S2 spinal levels.
Assess status of general sensory input to lumbar and upper sacral spinal cord levels—test light touch, pin prick, and vibration sense at dermatomes in the lower limb.
In the clinic