What is Proprioception?
Let’s start with an example of what poor proprioception looks like in this baby giraffe! Although this little guy learning to walk is adorable, his body is just beginning to integrate better proprioception.
Proprioception is the perception of body position, body movements, and spatial awareness. Our brain takes these key components and helps us to interact with the environment around us. These are essential components of us keeping our balance!
We have things called mechanoreceptors found throughout our whole body, and these are the cells that continuously relay information to the brain from the rest of the body. These mechanoreceptors are found heavily at the brain stem, hands, and feet. These mechanoreceptors can be broken down into further categories called muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, and joint receptors. The vestibular system and cerebellum are not mechanoreceptors, but do play a part in movement and coordination.
So, what do all of these mechanoreceptors do?
Muscle spindles provide information about muscle length and how fast the muscle switch length. Ideally these muscle spindles, when operating correctly, will alert the brain before a muscle is stretched too far.
Golgi tendon organs are located near the connection between muscles and bones in the tendon. Golgi tendon organs sense the muscle tension and force that is being applied.
Joint receptors are found within the capsules of joints and ligaments near these joints. They help the body perceive the joints position in space. They are essential for balance and stability as we move.
Other systems interacting with proprioception:
Vestibular system coordinates the movement of our head and helps to understand its position in space.
The cerebellum, a part of our brain, is a key director of incoming and outgoing communication for motor movements.
All of these play a role in simply standing up and taking a step. Now that we have a deeper understanding of the anatomy of proprioception, let’s look at some day to day relations!
Proprioception in children:
Let’s think of an infant who is just beginning to roll over, crawl, and walk! These are huge developmental milestones that are so excited to watch in your kiddo. But if these milestones are skipped, it is possible to see delays in cognitive developments such as speech, memory, and emotional regulation. This is because each milestone sets the neurological foundation for the next milestone. We always say that we aren’t necessarily looking at the timing of milestones, but rather the order of them.
What do proprioception struggles look like?
Individuals struggling with proprioception will fall easily, bump into things often, and have irregular movement patterns. They will have a hard time working through the beginning milestones of gross and fine motor movements. These delays are going to have an effect on future cognitive milestones, as stated above. If a brain is unable to understand where it is in space, imagine the difficulty in the brain may have in emotional regulation and focus!
What causes dysfunctional proprioception?
Proprioception issues can be brought on by physical trauma, chemical trauma, or emotional stress. Physical traumas can be as simple as a rolled ankle that injures receptors in the joint, or they can be as advanced as traumatic brain injuries. One physical trauma that is rapidly increasing and so often overlooked in kids is actually birth trauma. The rapid increase in interventions at birth can injure the brainstem or the cerebellum as so much pressure and torque is being applied to the cranial and upper neck throughout birth! Not only physical traumas, but any chemical and emotional stress can shift us into a state of dysautonomia (see previous blog to learn more).
So what does this have to do with chiropractic?
Children and adults struggling with proprioception issues can benefit from chiropractic care! In chiropractic, any stress within the nervous system is called subluxation. Subluxation is a neurological interference that alters the input from the brain to body and vice versa. This neurological interference inhibits the body’s ability to heal and can result in misalignments, fixations, and decrease range of motions in our joints. This will in turn cause problems in properly developing proprioception. Finding a neurologically based chiropractor to remove this neurological interference is essential to returning balance to the nervous system! This will allow our body to heal, develop, and operate as it was designed!
In health,
Nate Broders, D.C.
