Kinesthesia is defined as the ability to control and direct movements of the body parts unconsciously. Accordingly, kinesthesia is a sensation of the movement of the body, starting from the proprioceptive system.
What the kinesthesia?
Kinesthesia is defined as the ability to control and direct movements of the body parts unconsciously. Proprioceptive systems are sensory systems that measure processes in deep somatic tissues – i.e. muscles, joints, etc. Proprioception includes three sensory modalities: the sense of movement, the sense of position, and the sense of force. Kinesthesia works on the basis of musculoskeletal receptors in the joints, muscles and tendons. More specifically, in the muscle spindles, vision organs such as the Golgi tendons, and sensors in the joint capsules. For the most part, kinesthesia occurs unconsciously. Often, terms such as kinesthetic perception, kinesthetic sense, or kinesthetic sensory system are used as synonyms for proprioception in general. In this case, therefore, not only the sense of movement is meant, but also the sense of position and force. The term kinesthesia is composed of the two ancient Greek words ‘kineō’ and ‘aisthēsis’. ‘Kineō’ stands for “to move” and ‘aisthēsis’ for ‘perception, sensation’. The British neurologist Henry Charlton Bastian first used the term in the 1800s to refer to the sense of movement and the area in the brain responsible for sensation of movement – Kinaesthetic Centre. The term kinesthetics is also used in nursing. Here kinesthetics describes a concept with which the movement of patients is gently supported.
Function and task
The proprioceptors in the muscles and joints register stimuli. For example, the Golgi seens register the tension of the tendon, and thus the contraction of the muscle, its movement. On fast conducting pathways the sensation is transmitted to the spinal cord. Here, the stimulus can be transmitted directly to motoneurons. This enables a faster reaction, since the stimulus does not have to be conducted all the way to the brain to be transmitted to a motor neuron only there. This is how reflexes work. However, most stimuli follow excitation conduction via posterior cord pathways and the anterolateral system via thalamic nuclei to the cerebral cortex. The sensation of force is important for what is known as force dosage, or fine tuning of tone. Only when proprioception is functioning is it possible to adjust muscle tone, posture, movement, and force dosage. Thus, the necessary resistance and the correct tension can be built up. The main tasks of the sense of movement are posture coordination as well as movement coordination. Postural control is also called postural coordination. It coordinates that assumed body positions can be held over a longer period of time in order to be able to use them for the required action. Movement coordination is differentiated into gross motor skills and fine motor skills. However, this differentiation is not always clear, since both can run in parallel. For example, when throwing a ball, which in itself is more of a gross motor movement, the fingers work in a fine motor way. Movement coordination also shows the importance of the interplay between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Movements of the left and right hemispheres of the body often merge smoothly. Often movements happen uncontrolled and without any intention or necessity. These are called associative movements. They often occur when the opposite side imitates a movement performed on the other side of the body. Or also when a person imitates the behavior of his counterpart. These are referred to as mirror movements. In summary, kinesthesia controls highly complex processes in the body. A closer look also reveals that, contrary to expectations, not all movements are subject to voluntary control.
Disease and complaint
A disorder of movement and postural coordination is ataxia. There are different forms of ataxia. It manifests as uncontrolled, excess movements. Ataxias can occur even with normal muscle strength, that is, when there is no paralysis. It is also possible that only one half of the body is affected. In this case, it is called hemiataxia. The causes can lie in the central (CNS) as well as in the peripheral nervous system.Furthermore, they can be classified according to their etiology, the CNS segment affected, and the movement affected. The causes of ataxias can be genetic or acquired. Patients with hypothyroidism of tumor disease have an increased risk of experiencing ataxia. Similarly, ataxia can be caused by alcohol abuse or other toxins. Classified according to the affected CNS section, one can distinguish between a cerebellar and a spinal form, in this case people with multiple sclerosis are particularly often affected. Depending on the movement affected, a distinction can also be made between stance ataxia, pointing ataxia, gait ataxia or trunk ataxia. Stand ataxia can be preceded by cerebellar damage or diseases of the vestibular organ. It manifests itself in postural instability and swaying of the body. Pointing and gait ataxia are manifested, as the name suggests, when pointing at an object or walking. Trunk ataxia, on the other hand, is manifested by trunk swaying when sitting. The treatment of ataxia is always based on its cause, which ideally needs to be addressed. However, this also means that many forms of ataxia cannot be cured. In this case, the therapist usually recommends devices or appliances to better deal with the ataxia. These can be walking sticks or special supports for eating or speaking, for example.
