The Silent Contributor

Why should a fitness coach be concerned with proprioception? I am writing this to dig a little deeper, and I challenge you to become aware of just one amazing thing our bodies do naturally to help us go about our daily lives.

Let’s start by discussing what proprioception is. Simply stated, proprioception is the ability to realize where our body and body parts are in space. It gives us the ability to instinctively respond to our changing environment with the help of kinesthesia, the sense of body movement. Together, they allow us to be able to walk across a messy room or hike uneven terrain without focusing on every step we take.

Proprioceptors include sensory and motor pathways that stem from our central nervous system and are located in different areas of our body. Muscles, joints, tendons, and the vestibular system which is located in the inner ear, contain proprioceptors.

Balance, coordination, and agility are all integrated as part of proprioception and goes to show why proprioception is so important! Elite athletes have advanced proprioception ability because they are regularly training this system. They relentlessly gain feedback from their competitive environment and respond with appropriate muscle action. A soccer player reacting to a slide tackle by jumping over her opponent, maintaining her balance and continuing onward, then adjusting her body position to shoot the ball at the goal is displaying advanced proprioceptive ability.

Elite athletes aside, our proprioceptors are at work even when we bend over to pick up something from the floor. As we bend over, our muscles, tendons, and joints are working with our central nervous system to monitor the length of the muscle, tension, and velocity of the stretch by sending and receiving signals during the movement, while our vestibular system is working to keep us balanced so we don’t topple over.

Proprioception and the Aging Population

The more we move our bodies, or respond to stimuli from our limbs and the environment, the better our balance, coordination, and agility will be – all of which play vital roles in proprioception.

Proprioception weakens as we age and like most things in life, it needs practice to maintain its ability to function accurately. One of the main reasons the aging population is likely to fall and get injured is because of their slow proprioception response. If we don’t respond quick enough to our changing surroundings, like stepping off a curb, or mistakenly thinking that our left foot is in a safe position to hold our body weight, injury is likely to follow.

Regular physical activity has been shown to slow the decline of proprioceptive function in the aging population. In order for proprioception to be effortlessly unconscious as it once was, it needs to be consciously trained.

Exercises

The most common exercise is the one you’ve done countless times at the doctor’s office. “Close your eyes and touch your nose with your index finger”. The reason closing your eyes is a good test of your proprioception is because vision compensates for lack of proprioception ability. So, closing your eyes while performing simple exercises like standing on one leg with your arms stretched wide is a good way to train your system. Exercises that also promote good proprioceptive response include those where balance plays a key role. Equipment such as a Bosu ball or wobble board are useful in this case.

We talked about the importance of agility as it pertains to proprioception. A great agility drill is the grape vine. All agility drills should be performed without looking down at your feet. Taking your eyes off your feet allows for great proprioception feedback. One of my favorite exercises I use with my clients is what I have named reverse balance toe touches. Here is a video demonstration. Try it with your eyes closed.

This not only tests proprioception, but also requires core activation and uses all major muscle groups

Ultimately, muscle strength increases the relationship between our mind and muscles, also known as the mind-muscle connection. If it is reinforced, proprioceptive ability is increased.