Synonyms
Deep sensitivity, self-perception, proprioceptive training From the Latin: “proprius= own” ; “recipere= to take in” English: proprioceptionThe proprioception in athletic strength training has received increasing attention in recent years. Although many questions about this type of training remain unanswered, many sports suppliers and trainers are focusing on this form of deep, sensitive muscle growth. Proprioception is well known from the field of orthopedic insoles, when children with movement anomalies were provided with this form of orthopedic insoles and achieved success in movement stability.
In the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation of movement disorders, proprioception is, compared to the treatment of insoles, a method that has been known for many years. The proprioception belongs to the group of the body’s own feedback besides the visceroception (feedback of the internal organs). The perception from the environment is called exteroception.
PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) is a treatment system that uses afferent nerve pathways to provide feedback of the body’s own signals to generate muscular impulses. Simplified: During a muscle contraction, the stimulus is transmitted from the brain to the muscles via so-called efferent pathways. The feedback from the muscles to the central nervous system takes place via the so-called afferent pathways.
This feedback is consciously used by shaky pads to instability of the whole system. The athlete, the patient, is thus in imbalance and must maintain or regain body balance through the feedback (afferent pathways). EMG measurements (electromyography) have shown that with this type of muscular stress, the muscle fibers in the muscle are stretched to deep areas.
Compared to lower organisms, humans possess so-called kinesthetic receptors, which enable us to return stimuli from the joints, joint capsules, tendons, ligaments, fasciae, skin and muscles to the CNS. In human movement, movement corrections are thus possible during the execution of movement. Together with the organ of equilibrium in the ear (vestibular apparatus), these analyzers provide the body with feedback on the position, movement, posture and acceleration in space.
In addition, feedback about the environment is also transmitted to the CNS via the afferent pathways. These are, for example, temperature effects on the skin. Feedback from the internal organs is provided by enteroceptive stimuli via the afferent pathways of the autonomic nervous system.
The stimuli of the afferent pathways are processed and passed on to the successful organ in the CNS via a switch position through efferent pathways. These can be: Simplified: If you walk over a changing surface with your eyes closed, you do not necessarily fall over. The feedback of the afferences in the sole of the foot and knee joints provide a compensatory movement
- For movement (somato – motor – nerves)
- Internal organs (vizero – motor – nerves)
- Glands (secreto – motor – nerves)
In diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy often occurs, in which both the effects and the afferences are impaired in their functionality.
This increases the risk of falling. The proprioception does not work and the gait is thus massively impaired. Therefore, the optical analyzer plays a central role in walking.
In patients with cerebral movement disorders, the afferent analyzer no longer functions fully, and as a result of excessive muscle tone, only insufficient information is transmitted from the successful organ (muscle, tendons…) to the CNS. Simplified: Due to the increased standing on the ball of the foot, insufficient feedback from the sole of the foot is possible, resulting in motor disturbances. In this case, however, the proprioception can be improved.
The simplest example of proprioception is the self-reflex in the knee joint. A slight blow against the patellar tendon below the kneecap causes a contraction in the thigh muscle. Why?
The patellar tendon is passively stretched and thus stretches the associated muscle (M. quadrizeps femoris). Muscle spindles in this muscle register this stretch (afference) and cause a contraction (efference). As already described above, physiotherapy in rehab makes targeted use of proprioception in order to make targeted use of the body’s feedback.
In orthopedic shoe care, especially for diabetics, but also non-diabetics often use the improved feedback of the soles of the feet through special pads in the sole.Furthermore, proprioception is used in modern strength sports to develop the muscles in a more targeted way through the body’s own feedback. In addition, proprioceptive strength training leads to the development of movement coordination.