What is Proprioception and why is it important in injury recovery?

What is Proprioception and why is it important in injury recovery?

Surely you have heard of recovery or proprioceptive training, if you have ever suffered an ankle or knee injury many of you will have put it into practice in Sports Physiotherapy in Mumbai treatment, and if you are athletes, surely, it is part of your training.

We dedicate this article to explaining to you what proprioceptive re-education is and what it consists of and its importance in Sports Physiotherapy in Mumbai treatment for injury recovery, both for those of you who are unfamiliar with the subject and for those who are interested in knowing a little more.

Sometimes, in consultation, we are presented with cases of patients with a history of joint injuries that continue to cause discomfort, patients who have noticed or are noticing instability or lack of control of the joint and some even report having suffered several similar injuries in the same joint. For a good recovery and to avoid possible relapses, the treatment and orientation of Sports Physiotherapy in Mumbai is important, not abandoning the treatment prematurely and giving importance to proprioceptive recovery.

What is Proprioception?

Proprioception is the sense that gives us the ability to detect the movement and position of the joints. The information collected by the proprioceptive system allows adjustments to be made in the control and execution of movements, avoiding the risk of injury during sports activity and in the face of minimal gestures in daily life , such as stepping on uneven ground, going down steps , kick a ball, throw an object, etc.

This information reaches the brain through nerve receptors found in our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

What happens after an injury? And why is it important in treatment?

This fine mechanism of deep and unconscious sensitivity can be lost or impaired in certain diseases such as diabetes or neurological diseases. When you suffer a joint injury (sprains, fractures, surgeries…) the proprioceptive receptors atrophy, producing a deficit in the information they collect, thus, you are more likely to suffer another injury because it affects the coordination and control of movement. Movement, both in our daily life and in sports activities. Therefore, it is important that after an injury you perform proprioceptive exercises guided by your physiotherapist.

The time to start proprioceptive work will be in the final phases of recovery, that is, when the edema has been reabsorbed, mobility has been recovered, and muscle strength exercises have begun.

A good proprioceptive work improves functionality and prevents relapses or future injuries, allowing the patient a normal life without limitations and an optimal sports return.

What are proprioceptive exercises?

To work on Proprioception, very complicated exercises are not necessary and their difficulty will increase progressively. They must be adapted to the person and the type of injury, being more intense exercises if they are trained at a sports level.

Proprioceptive exercises help improve strength, coordination, balance and stability, with them you will improve reaction time in certain situations chiropractor in Mumbai , such as allowing you to recover the correct posture after tripping unexpectedly.

As you will be able to see in the videos that we have chosen as an example, the exercises are based on causing imbalances to reinforce the muscle and joint adjustments that are necessary to maintain balance, stability and posture. The exercises that appear are not always the ones that are used, since they depend on whether it is about re-educating Proprioception in sport or at a clinical level.