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Hi everyone! I’m going to be explaining proprioception today. This is important to know, especially if you want to understand how balance works. So to start of, I’ll give you an example of an acrosport position, and then explain how they do it.

This position requires two people: one to hold the other in the air and the other to be held with their body and legs straight. If we were the first person, our trunk and hip muscles would allow us to hold our legs in this position, and the shoulder muscles would allow us to keep our arms in this position. But to help our muscles, the proprioceptors in the muscles would activate the opposing muscles of the ones that are moving to stop the change of position. The other person must keep their arms on the other person’s and keep their legs straight while being lifted. To keep their arms like this, they use their shoulder muscles with the help of the proprioceptors that activate the opposing muscles of those that move to hold the position. Then, the legs are held by the trunk and hip muscles, which are once again aided by the proprioceptors that activate the opposing muscles of those that move to hold the position. The opposing muscles are active to neutralize the muscles that move because if the muscles move, the position is broken, and the proprioceptors do this to hold the position. This is the benefit of proprioception.

The example is over. The proprioceptors that you heard about are basically nerves inside the muscles that control them. These nerves are controlled by the brain, and when you’re in a position like the one above, your muscles will tend move a bit, and that could break the position, and maybe hurt you. So, subconsciously, your brain will send signals to the proprioceptors in the opposing muscles to activate them, and that counteracts the movement of the other muscles.

You must be wondering, then why do we break positions so often? Well, it’s because of the stress that it puts on you, and because of the fatigue that your muscles experience. Nothing can stop that.

Anyway, bye everyone and see you later!