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During locomotion the body of the animal will regularly lean laterally as the limbs move. The stretch reflex ensures that during locomotion the contra-lateral muscles to the side of the lean (which will be in a stretched position) are contracted to ensure the posture of the body is brought back into a neutral position. In a similar manner to the golgi tendon organs, the stretch reflex sensory neurons are twisted around muscle spindles, called '''intrafusal'''muscle fibres. These specialised muscle fibres only constitute a small element of the muscle body.   

During locomotion the body of the animal will regularly lean laterally as the limbs move. The stretch reflex ensures that during locomotion the contra-lateral muscles to the side of the lean (which will be in a stretched position) are contracted to ensure the posture of the body is brought back into a neutral position. In a similar manner to the golgi tendon organs, the stretch reflex sensory neurons are twisted around muscle spindles, called '''intrafusal''' muscle fibres. These specialised muscle fibres only constitute a small element of the muscle body. These twisted sensory neurons change shape when the muscle spindle is stretched resulting in depolarisation and the stimulation of motor neurons connected to contra-lateral antagonist muscle.

The stretch reflex is also able to activate even in muscles that are shortened as any change in muscle length will result in changes in the shape of the sensory cells. Therefore these cells provide a continuous measurement of certain muscle parameters including length and velocity of contraction. This facilitates coordination from the brain resulting in the animal being capable of very fine coordinated muscle movements that can be rapidly adjusted.