What is Proprioception?

StrongBoard-Balance-Board-ProprioceptionHow does proprioception work and why is it important?

Proprioception is defined as “The sense of knowing where the body is in relation to its various segments and the external environment” (“Essentials of Exercise Science”-ACE). Your proprioceptors send signals to your brain, and are an essential part of the mind-body connection. Proprioception is a key component to developing better-balanced, more reactive, and stronger muscles.

The body has several kinds of proprioceptors, and they are defined by and function based off of their location. The proprioceptors in your skin, muscles, joints, and inner ear are very different and send a variety of signals to the brain. For example, the proprioceptors in your ear (often called your vestibular system), tell your brain where your head is located in space. If these receive mixed signals, or sense that something is “off” (like when you’re experiencing turbulence on a plane or rough waters while riding a boat), you can experience motion sickness.

The reason why your proprioceptors in your muscles and joint capsules are so essential for balance is because they signal the brain to increase muscular contraction, stretching, and reaction time. If we can sense changes in pressure around the joint, the brain will communicate to the muscles surrounding the joint to activate, strengthen, and stabilize these muscles. The stronger we can make these connections from challenging our balance, the stronger and more reactive our muscles become. This can prevent falls, improve our posture, strengthen the relationship between the mind and body, and our visual-spatial awareness.

Performing exercises on a less-stable base (like on StrongBoard Balance, BOSU ball, wobble-board, or one-leg) can significantly improve your proprioception.

Share your favorite balance exercises in the comments section below!

Stay Balanced!

Regular Use of StrongBoard Balance Will Improve Proprioception

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cerebellum is largely responsible for coordinating the unconscious aspects of proprioception.

Proprioception (/ˌproʊpri.ɵˈsɛpʃən/ pro-pree-o-sep-shən), from Latin proprius, meaning “one’s own”, “individual” and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.[1] It is provided by proprioceptors in skeletal striated muscles and in joints. It is distinguished from exteroception, by which one perceives the outside world, and interoception, by which one perceives pain, hunger, etc., and the movement of internal organs. The brain integrates information from proprioception and from the vestibular system into its overall sense of body position, movement, and acceleration. The word kinesthesia (kinesthetic sense) has been used inconsistently to refer either to proprioception alone or to the brain’s integration of proprioceptive and vestibular inputs.

StrongBoard Balance board can be utilized to help increase your flexibility, range of motion, balance and strength all at the same time. Balance board exercises are meant to improve three core areas- balance, equilibrium, and stability. Balancing also improves proprioception around the ligaments and tendons joints and tendons. The stronger those are, the less chance of injury.

StrongBoard Balance Board Improve Proprioception

The Vestibular system | Harmony From Within

In the fitness world, the word “balance” gets thrown around a lot. We know how important balance is to living a happy and healthy life. We often take the stable ground we walk on and gravity for granted.

We learn balance at a young age, and it becomes part of who we are and how we function. But to understand the full complexity of how we achieve balance is simply amazing. One of the wonders of our human body is a system you don’t hear about too much, so I’m going to share it with you:

It’s called the Vestibular system.

The vestibular system is a crucial part of our balance in life. It is our sense to spatial orientation with respect to gravity. The vestibular system works alongside the cochlea, which is part of our auditory system. This is the labyrinth of the inner ear, which consists of lateral, anterior, and posterior semicircular ducts.

There are two components in the vestibular system: the semicircular canal system, which relates to rotational movements; and the otoliths, which relate to linear accelerations. Basically, the vestibular system sends signals to the neural configuration that control eye movements, and to the muscles that keep us upright.

(http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter10.html)

 

All hail the Vestibular System, for it is the system in the body managing balance, posture, and the body’s orientation in space. This awesome system regulates locomotion and other movements. It also helps keep objects in visual focus as the body moves! Wow!

Stay balanced my friends.

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