Proprioception

How to understand, test and maintain your proprioception!

Join our private members Pilates & Wellbeing online program today!

Just what is proprioception?

Without proprioception, you couldn’t take your next step without consciously thinking about how you will make it happen.

You wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the grass on the soles of your feet and a cement path.

And you couldn’t walk a straight line.

Proprioception is your brains ability to take information from vestibular organs in the inner ear, visual information from the eyes and receptors on our muscles, skin and joints to sense movement, location and action. 

It is a sense that we assume.  We take it for granted.  In fact, most of us are not even aware that we have it!

If you are an athlete having good proprioception will enhance your performance.

Good proprioception also helps us to maintain posture, exercise, balance and stabilise our bodies to avoid injury and falls, especially as we get older.

And, importantly it is a sense that we must develop for the health of our brains, to focus, and even our speech.

What to know more?  Let’s explore how you can better understand, test and maintain good proprioception.

Related Topics

Proprioception in a nutshell

Proprioception is also called kinesthesia.

It is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.

This muscle sense is found in most animals, and although plants do not have neurons, amazingly, some plants also have a form of proprioception.

In humans, the transfer of information takes place through proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons, located within skin, muscles, tendons, and joints.

Signals are transmitted to the central nervous system, where they are integrated with the information from other sensory systems, like the visual system (eyes) and the vestibular system (inner ear), to allow you to experience the full understanding of your body’s position, movement, and physical energy force. 

Transfer of information to sense movement, location and action…

How the body senses proprioception:

Training your proprioception

Many of the day-to-day activities and tasks we execute require us to have trained our proprioception.

Think about touch typing, driving a car, an artist being able to put the paint onto the canvas, hiking through the mountains and not needing to watch the ground as you navigate the terrain, or even just walking down the street and stepping up the curb.

This is all because of proprioception.

We can train and sharpen our proprioceptive sense by practising different disciplines, including Pilates, yoga, Chi Gung and even juggling!

It has been proven that by regular maintenance, we can hone this sense to maintain and improve our reaction time, spacial location, the efficiency of our movement and our balance, especially as we age.

Test your proprioceptive function with balance:

The Romberg’s test is often used to assess balance. Stand with your feet together and your eyes closed without support for 30 seconds. If you lose balance and falls, it is an indicator for impaired proprioception.

Assessment for impaired proprioception

If you are concerned that you may have a proprioception disorder you should contact your doctor, physical therapist or healthcare worker to have an assessment.

Reasons you may be concerned could include:

  • balance issues
  • not being able to walk in a straight line
  • dropping or bumping into things
  • poor posture control – having to lean or hold onto things to stay upright
  • trouble recognising your own strength
  • avoiding activities or movements due to fear of falling

The practitioner will discuss your medical history and may perform one of the following tests:

  • Romberg test (as above)
  • Field sobriety test – For example touching your nose with each of your index fingers with your eyes closes or walking in a straight line.
  • Thumb finding test
  • Sequential finger touching
  • Distal proprioception test

Following this, they may ask for more diagnostic tests to rule out underlying medical conditions or injury.

Practice your proprioception!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vlXuRLCHhGQ%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Join Director Natalia Laing for a 6 minute proprioception practice session!

What may cause impaired proprioception?

Impaired proprioception can be due to:

Injury:

  • joint injuries, such as an ankle sprain or knee sprain
  • joint replacement surgery, such as hip replacement or knee replacement

More serious conditions include:

  • brain injuries
  • herniated disc
  • arthritis
  • multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • stroke
  • autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • diabetes
  • peripheral neuropathy
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Huntington’s disease
  • ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig’s disease

Temporary issues that can include:

  • migraine auras
  • being affected by alcohol or drugs
  • rapid fluctuations in weight
  • being tired

They can be categorised in the following:

  • neurological (brain)
  • muscular
  • sensory
  • degenerative

Impairment can be permanent, long term or temporary.

subscribe to Wellness Notes, Studio Australia Barcelona’s exclusive newsletter!

Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!

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Proprioception

How to understand, test and maintain your proprioception!

Join our private members Pilates & Wellbeing online program today!

Just what is proprioception?

Without proprioception, you couldn’t take your next step without consciously thinking about how you will make it happen.

You wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the grass on the soles of your feet and a cement path.

And you couldn’t walk a straight line.

Proprioception is your brains ability to take information from vestibular organs in the inner ear, visual information from the eyes and receptors on our muscles, skin and joints to sense movement, location and action. 

It is a sense that we assume.  We take it for granted.  In fact, most of us are not even aware that we have it!

If you are an athlete having good proprioception will enhance your performance.

Good proprioception also helps us to maintain posture, exercise, balance and stabilise our bodies to avoid injury and falls, especially as we get older.

And, importantly it is a sense that we must develop for the health of our brains, to focus, and even our speech.

What to know more?  Let’s explore how you can better understand, test and maintain good proprioception.

Related Topics

Proprioception in a nutshell

Proprioception is also called kinesthesia.

It is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position.

This muscle sense is found in most animals, and although plants do not have neurons, amazingly, some plants also have a form of proprioception.

In humans, the transfer of information takes place through proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons, located within skin, muscles, tendons, and joints.

Signals are transmitted to the central nervous system, where they are integrated with the information from other sensory systems, like the visual system (eyes) and the vestibular system (inner ear), to allow you to experience the full understanding of your body’s position, movement, and physical energy force. 

Transfer of information to sense movement, location and action…

How the body senses proprioception:

Training your proprioception

Many of the day-to-day activities and tasks we execute require us to have trained our proprioception.

Think about touch typing, driving a car, an artist being able to put the paint onto the canvas, hiking through the mountains and not needing to watch the ground as you navigate the terrain, or even just walking down the street and stepping up the curb.

This is all because of proprioception.

We can train and sharpen our proprioceptive sense by practising different disciplines, including Pilates, yoga, Chi Gung and even juggling!

It has been proven that by regular maintenance, we can hone this sense to maintain and improve our reaction time, spacial location, the efficiency of our movement and our balance, especially as we age.

Test your proprioceptive function with balance:

The Romberg’s test is often used to assess balance. Stand with your feet together and your eyes closed without support for 30 seconds. If you lose balance and falls, it is an indicator for impaired proprioception.

Assessment for impaired proprioception

If you are concerned that you may have a proprioception disorder you should contact your doctor, physical therapist or healthcare worker to have an assessment.

Reasons you may be concerned could include:

  • balance issues
  • not being able to walk in a straight line
  • dropping or bumping into things
  • poor posture control – having to lean or hold onto things to stay upright
  • trouble recognising your own strength
  • avoiding activities or movements due to fear of falling

The practitioner will discuss your medical history and may perform one of the following tests:

  • Romberg test (as above)
  • Field sobriety test – For example touching your nose with each of your index fingers with your eyes closes or walking in a straight line.
  • Thumb finding test
  • Sequential finger touching
  • Distal proprioception test

Following this, they may ask for more diagnostic tests to rule out underlying medical conditions or injury.

Practice your proprioception!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vlXuRLCHhGQ%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Join Director Natalia Laing for a 6 minute proprioception practice session!

What may cause impaired proprioception?

Impaired proprioception can be due to:

Injury:

  • joint injuries, such as an ankle sprain or knee sprain
  • joint replacement surgery, such as hip replacement or knee replacement

More serious conditions include:

  • brain injuries
  • herniated disc
  • arthritis
  • multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • stroke
  • autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • diabetes
  • peripheral neuropathy
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Huntington’s disease
  • ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig’s disease

Temporary issues that can include:

  • migraine auras
  • being affected by alcohol or drugs
  • rapid fluctuations in weight
  • being tired

They can be categorised in the following:

  • neurological (brain)
  • muscular
  • sensory
  • degenerative

Impairment can be permanent, long term or temporary.

subscribe to Wellness Notes, Studio Australia Barcelona’s exclusive newsletter!

Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!

News & articles

Discover the Power of Naturopathy, Phytotherapy & Herbal Medicine, Iridology and Nutraceuticals for Optimal Health | + Bonus Wellness Tips!

Practice What We Preach: Healing With A Functional and Integrative Approach

Types of Drinking Water and How They Impact Your Health

Last-Minute Gifts to Inspire Health & Well-Being for Everyone!

Learn How to Transform Today with Resistance Training and More Protein

10 fabulous holistic practices to help you navigate peri menopause

Functional Medicine:  An integrative way to heal for your long term well being.

Unlocking Your Brain’s Potential: 14 Ways to Boost Brain Health

Fasting February: Want to renew your body, reset metabolism, and embrace wellness?

Learn the power of Transformational Hypnotherapy and Somatic Coaching

subscribe to Wellness Notes, Studio Australia Barcelona’s exclusive newsletter!

Get monthly updates with wellness tips, holistic health insights, and expert guidance. Start your journey to a better well-being and healing today!