Proprioception

Proprioception (from Latin proprius, meaning "one's own" and perception) is the sense of the position of parts of the body, relative to other neighbouring parts of the body. Unlike the six exteroception human senses of sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing, and balance, that advise us of the outside world, proprioception is a sense that provides feedback solely on the status of the body internally. It is the sense that indicates whether or not your body is moving with required effort, as well as where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other.

Related Topics:
Latin - Sense - Exteroception - Sight - Taste - Smell - Touch - Hearing - Balance

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Kinesthesia is another term that is often used interchangeably with proprioception. Some users differentiate the kinesthetic sense from proprioception by excluding the sense of equilibrium or balance from kinesthesia. An inner ear infection, for example, might impact the sense of balance. This would impact the proprioceptive sense, but not the kinesthetic sense. The infected person would be able to walk, but only by using the person's sense of sight to maintain balance; the person would be unable to walk with his/her eyes closed.

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Kinesthesia is a key component in muscle memory and hand-eye coordination, and training can improve this sense. The ability to effortlessly swing a golf club, or catch a baseball requires a finely tuned sense of the position of the joints, so that the eyes can concentrate on the ball and let the kinesthetic sense handle moving the body as needed to meet the ball.

Related Topics:
Golf - Baseball

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