What is proprioception and why is it important?
Proprioception is a perception of the body’s position in space. It works through a combination of receptors, muscular and ligamentary, and the nervous system. It can be done consciously or unconsciously.
This dimension is particularly evident when a person jumps, or does a balanced activity. The feedback system for the person’s position in space must be very fast to make micro adjustments and avoid loss of balance. The information does not have time to get to the brain and back to the joint before you suffer a fall. This operation is therefore performed on the spinal cord and locally on the muscles and tendons.
But this function is not only involved in extreme cases like jumping or balancing activities. The simple act of walking or running involves this system making constant micro-adjustments to variations in the surface or to differences in step or foot elevation. It is a very efficient system that is constantly in demand.
When an athlete injures his or her ankle, for example, there is of course a physical consequence to the affected structures (for a sprain: tendons, ligaments, muscles, and depending on the severity, possibly bones). But sprains also affect proprioception because the information receptors have been cut off.
For this reason, your physiotherapist will attack your treatment plan in several ways. It will work on swelling, strength and regeneration of tissues that have been damaged. But he will also work on restoring proprioception by doing exercises that involve balance once the joint is sufficiently restored.
Frequently, the healing of the joint structures is faster than the restoration of proprioception. Your physiotherapist will then recommend a prosthesis to provide additional support until your ankle is fully recovered. Complete healing takes about a year, and it is only in order to avoid a new tear that the athlete must do balance exercises. In some cases this prosthesis may be recommended, even if proprioception is restored, and as a preventive measure, especially if your sport involves frequent, sudden changes of direction, or if it is played on an uneven surface.
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