The Proprioceptive Senses - Their Roles in Signaling Body Shape, Body Position and Movement, and Muscle Force

Sep 5, 2026

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A comprehensive review explains how proprioceptive senses arise from self-generated actions and coordinate perception of body shape, limb position and movement, effort, force, and heaviness. Proprioceptive receptors span skin, muscles, and joints, while afferent populations encode movement-related information through central body maps for spatial localization. Evidence from phantom-limb experiments and tendon organ contributions clarifies how movement can be consciously sensed without peripheral input. The review further addresses how exercise disrupts proprioception, how aging degrades these senses and increases fall risk, and how these mechanisms inform clinical conditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages47

Reading Time1 h 58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction and Historical Background

Everyday dependence on proprioceptive signals

Definitions: proprioception and kinesthesia

The Kinesthetc Sensors

What Do Proprioceptors Signal?

The Body in the Brain

The Senses of Effort and Force

Proprioception and Exercise

Proprioception in the Elderly

Proprioception in the Clinic

Concluding Comments

Physiol Rev 92: 1651–1697, 2012 doi:10.1152/physrev.00048.2011 THE PROPRIOCEPTIVE SENSES: THEIR ROLES IN SIGNALING BODY SHAPE, BODY POSITION AND MOVEMENT, AND MUSCLE FORCE Uwe Proske and Simon C. Gandevia Department of Physiology, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; and Neuroscience Research Australia and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia L Proske U, Gandevia SC. The Proprioceptive Senses: Their Roles in Signaling Body Shape, Body Position and Movement, and Muscle Force. Physiol Rev 92: 1651–1697, 2012; doi:10.1152/physrev.00048.2011 .—This is a review of the proprioceptive senses generated as a result of our own actions. They include the senses of position and movement of our limbs and trunk, the sense of effort, the sense of force, and the sense of heaviness. Receptors involved in proprioception are located in skin, muscles, and joints. Information about limb position and movement is not generated by individual receptors, but by populations of afferents. Afferent signals generated during a movement are processed to code for endpoint position of a limb. The afferent input is referred to a central body map to determine the location of the limbs in space. Experimental phantom limbs, produced by blocking peripheral nerves, have shown that motor areas in the brain are able to generate conscious sensations of limb displacement and movement in the absence of any sensory input. In the normal limb tendon organs and possibly also muscle spindles contribute to the senses of force and heaviness. Exercise can disturb proprioception, and this has implications for musculoskeletal injuries. Proprioceptive senses, particularly of limb position and movement, deteriorate with age and are associated with an increased risk of falls in the elderly. The more recent information available on proprioception has given a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying these senses as well as providing new insight into a range of clinical conditions. I. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL... 1651 II. THE KINESTHETIC SENSORS 1653 III. WHAT DO PROPRIOCEPTORS SIGNAL? 1661 IV. THE BODY IN THE BRAIN:... 1665 V. THE SENSES OF EFFORT, FORCE,... 1671 VI. PROPRIOCEPTION AND EXERCISE 1677 VII. PROPRIOCEPTION IN THE ELDERLY 1682 VIII. PROPRIOCEPTION IN THE CLINIC 1684 IX. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 1686 It is useful and justiﬁable for level of investigation to have its own language but we must expect that with a greater advancement of our knowledge it will be easy to translate one such language into another. Until such a time, each ﬁeld must develop along its own lines, unhindered by the many possibilities for misinterpretation. E. von Holst (1954) I. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A. Introduction In everyday activities we depend on signals coming from our moving bodies to be able to respond to the space around us and react rapidly in changing circumstances. Much of this knowledge about position and movement of the limbs and trunk is provided by sensations arising in proprioceptors. The information they provide allows us to maneuver our way around obstacles in the dark and be able to manipulate objects out of view. The term proprioception was passed down to us by Sherrington (356) . He stated, “In muscular receptivity we seethe body itself acting as a stimulus to its own receptors—the proprioceptors.” In a strict interpretation of that deﬁnition, our bodies are supplied by many types of proprioceptors, not just those concerned with muscular sensibility. For example, we have receptors signaling distension of arteries, lungs, and the gut. Traditionally, however, the term proprioceptor has been restricted to receptors concerned with conscious sensations, and these include the senses of limb position and movement, the sense of tension or force, the sense of effort, and the sense of balance. Kinesthesia, a term introduced by Bastian (17), is used here to refer to sensations of limb position and movement. In this

FAQs

What types of senses are included in proprioception?

Proprioception covers the senses of limb and trunk position and movement, effort, force, and heaviness.

Where do proprioceptive receptors signal from?

Receptors involved in proprioception are located in skin, muscles, and joints.

How do researchers show that the brain can generate proprioceptive sensations without sensory input?

Phantom-limb experiments, created by blocking peripheral nerves, show that brain motor areas can produce conscious sensations of limb displacement and movement even without sensory input.

Sep 5, 2026

Upload by Quinn