Proprioception – Our Body’s Sixth Sense
September 26, 2023
We use our five senses to feel and understand the world: taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing. But inside, your body uses proprioception, another sense which keeps track of each part of your body.
When we move our bodies, joints change their position, and the brain keeps track of this movement. This tracking happens constantly without us realizing it!
Another part of proprioception is knowing how hard your muscles must work, like lifting a bucket of water. Your eyes see that the bucket looks heavy and signal the brain to tell your arms how hard to pull so you raise the bucket just right.
When we age, our proprioception seems to worsen. Signals between nerves in the muscles and the brain are not as healthy in older people as in younger people. Occupational therapy can help all aged people cope with this issue with tasks such as adding weight to a person’s arms when they move to give extra feedback from the muscles to the brain.
Proprioception Facts
- Proprioception taken as a whole includes balance, coordination and agility.
- It enables the body to move and control limbs without directly looking at them.
- It consists of information from sensory neurons in the inner ear and in the stretch receptors located in the muscles and ligaments.
- You can improve proprioception by training on uneven surfaces such as wobble boards and exercise balls, or with exercises that incorporate balancing on one leg.
- People with great proprioceptive awareness are artists, musicians, athletes, dancers, etc.
Vocabulary Practice!
https://quizlet.com/ca/747069431/proprioception-vocabulary-flash-cards/?i=4cnupa&x=1jqt