Introduction to Retained Primitive Reflexes (PRs) in Orthopedics, Trauma, and Neurogenic Diseases

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

Primitive reflexes (PRs) are involuntary motor responses that form early in development to stabilize the body and ensure survival. When these reflexes fail to integrate or are reactivated due to trauma, emotional stress, or neurogenic disease, they cause dysfunction in the body’s musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

In clinical settings, retained PRs do not present abstractly. They express through specific, reproducible fascial bracing patterns, muscle spasticity, and sinew channel fixation. These patterns impair functional mobility, destabilize postural tone, and often correlate with elevated sympathetic drive, reduced vagal tone, and impaired cranial nerve regulation.

OCD as Trauma's Kinetic Armor: Integrating Neurobiology, Bioenergetics, and Depth Psychology

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

This exploration delves into the complex relationship between the neurobiological mechanisms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the psychoanalytic constructs of trauma, and bioenergetic character structures. The core discussion centers on how OCD—particularly the “Just Right” or Symmetry/Ordering subtype—arises from a deep-seated physical discomfort tied to perceived imperfection. It traces the development of this condition through both the brain’s cortical circuitry, such as hyperactivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the body’s defensive structures, exemplified by the bioenergetic “Rigid Character” armor.

🧠 Developmental Trauma, Dopaminergic Collapse, and the Schizoid-Seeker Loop

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

In patients with early relational trauma—especially those with perinatal rupture, adoption, or spiritualized abuse—we frequently observe the emergence of schizoid character structure as defined by Alexander Lowen: a core split between the physical body and the organizing self. When paired with early threat to attachment and survival, this structural split often lays the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of safety through abstraction.

Heller’s developmental trauma framework identifies that rupture in the earliest stages (birth to three months) tends not to produce emotional dysregulation in the classic sense, but rather a failure to develop embodied contact with existence itself. In these cases, the infant may form a basic impression: “It is not safe to be here,” or even more primally, “I do not belong in a body.”

Mindfulness, Autonomic Regulation, and Primitive Reflexes: A Neuro-Somatic Framework

© 2025 J. Moffitt. Registered U.S. Copyright Office. Polyvagal Acupuncture®.

 My first introduction to deep somatic work was over 30 years ago with a clinician who had abandoned her psychology license to integrate hands-on therapies. With three PhDs, she realized that dissociated trauma survivors were cognitively processing their pain without ever truly feeling it in their bodies. This recognition was foundational in my understanding of why mindfulness must be embodied.