Proprioceptive Effects Research Articles

The Effects of Core Proprioception on Knee Injury

Background In sports involving pivoting and landing, female athletes suffer knee injury at a greater rate than male athletes. Hypotheses Proprioceptive deficits in control of the body's core may affect dynamic stability of the knee. Female, but not male, athletes who suffered a knee injury during a 3-year follow-up period would demonstrate decreased core proprioception at baseline testing as compared with uninjured athletes. Study Design Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods Study subjects were 277 collegiate athletes (140 female, 137 male) who were prospectively tested for core proprioception by active and passive proprioceptive repositioning. Athletes were monitored for injury for 3 years. An ANOVA and multivariate logistic regression were used to test whether core proprioception was related to knee injuries in athletes. Results Twenty-five athletes sustained knee injuries (11 women, 14 men). Deficits in active proprioceptive repositioning were observed in women with knee injuries (2.2°) and ligament/meniscal injuries (2.4°) compared with uninjured women (1.5°, P ≤ .05). There were no differences in average active proprioceptive repositioning error between injured men and uninjured men (P ≥ .05). Uninjured women demonstrated significantly less average error in active proprioceptive repositioning than uninjured men (1.5° vs 1.7°, P ≤ .05). For each degree increase in average active proprioceptive repositioning error, a 2.9-fold increase in the odds ratio of knee injury was observed, and a 3.3-fold increase in odds ratio of ligament/meniscal injury was observed (P ≤ .01). Active proprioceptive repositioning predicted knee injury status with 90% sensitivity and 56% specificity in female athletes. Conclusions Impaired core proprioception, measured by active proprioceptive repositioning of the trunk, predicted knee injury risk in female, but not male, athletes.

Changes in joint position sense after conservatively treated chronic lateral ankle instability

Improvement of ankle proprioception through physiotherapy (a.k.a. proprioceptive training) is a widely accepted conservative treatment modality of chronic functional lateral ankle instability. Clinical studies provided controversial data on its proprioceptive effect. Aim of this study was to gain evidence on the efficacy of proprioceptive training on ankle joint position sense. Ten patients (five males and five females, aged 23.3+/-5.4 years) were treated conservatively for chronic lateral ankle instability with a special training programme over 6 weeks. For the assessment of joint position sense we used the slope-box test, first applied and described by Robbins et al. (Br J Sports Med 29:242-247, 1995). The test was performed before the start and after the end of the training programme, measuring joint position sense on 11 different slope amplitudes in four directions (anterior, posterior, lateral and medial) in random order each on both ankles. Comparisons were made between pre- and post-training results as well as versus a control-group of ten healthy athletes. Overall the proprioceptive sensory function of the studied group has improved, but this improvement was not significant in all directions. Only two patients have shown significant improvement of joint position sense in all directions (mean estimate error improvement: 2.47 degrees ), while conservative treatment was partially successful in five others (mean estimate error improvement: 0.73 degrees ). The follow-up results of these seven patients were comparable with the values measured in the control-group. Three patients did not show any improvements (mean estimate error improvement: -0.55 degrees ) (overall difference between improving and non-improving patients: P<0.0001). Mean absolute estimate error profiles of the seven improving patients became similar to the profiles of healthy athletes, while these changes could not be observed in the case of the three non-improving participants. Proprioceptive rehabilitation programme can be an effective method in order to improve impaired joint position sense function. After 6 weeks non-responding patients can be well identified, and considered for other treatment modalities. The determination of the effective length of the programme however needs further evaluation. Still, changes in the proprioceptive sensory function of the ankle plantarflectors indicate the preventive effect of the training programme. Furthermore, our results support the theory of simultaneous function of different mechanoreceptor-systems.

Étude électromyographique des réflexes d’étirement intervenant au niveau de l’articulation coxo-fémorale normale et prothétique

Purpose of the study Several studies have been devoted to the effect of proprioception on joint function. Modifications in feedback control from the cord have been observed in unstable joints due to capsule and ligament laxity. A few studies have examined the effect of knee and hip arthroplasty on proprioception, but none have established whether stretch reflexes affect function of a prosthetic joint. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the electromyographic characteristics of stretch reflexes of the normal hip joint and to compare them with those observed in the prosthetic hip. Material and methods Two groups of patients were studied. The first included eleven subjects free of neurological disorders whose studied limb was healthy. The second group included ten subjects with a total hip prosthesis who had undergone extensive capsulectomy during the arthroplasty. Voluntary muscle contraction was noted in each subject. In addition, electromyographic recordings were made to note response of the ipsilateral and contralateral quadriceps crural and tensor of the fascia lata during changes in joint position. Recordings were made with the subject in the supine position, the limb suspended, hip flexed at 45̊ and knee extended. Three series of ten recordings were made in random order to measure the latency of muscle response to free fall of the limb, accelerated fall of the relaxed limb, and accelerated fall associated with calibrated contraction of the quadriceps. Mean latency of muscle response was calculated for each trial. Results In the conditions of this study, there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.05) in the reflex time course between natural and prosthetic hips. Discussion Changes due to joint replacement and capsulectomy do not appear to affect the stretch reflexes of the hip joint.

Effects of Visual Flow Display of Flight Maneuvers on Perceived Spatial Orientation

Postural responses were utilized as measures of the effectiveness of a wide-angle visual flow display in determining perceived spatial orientation (SO). The general experimental setup included a 150 degrees x 34 degrees wide-field display showing flight over computer-generated ground with horizon. Simulated roll maneuvers on this display induced postural sway in the observer that was registered by a head-tracker system. Two experiments with 16 participants in each investigated the effects of visual flow, display exclusions in the central visual field, and display extensions into the visual periphery. Clear vestibular and proprioceptive suppression effects were demonstrated on postural sway with the inclusion of visual flow of forward ego motion in roll maneuvers. Compared with the full view, up to 20 degrees x 20 degrees central field omission either did not reduce the effect or reduced the effect but, frequently, only moderately. Limiting the display area to 45 degrees in the horizontal dimension reduced display effectiveness significantly, whereas a 105 degrees area did not, compared with the full view. Utilizing postural responses as indications of visual display resonance with our SO mechanism, actual or potential applications of this research include the design of an interface integrating flight-adapted visual flow to counteract or reduce pilot spatial disorientation.

Relationship between bioelectric activity of neurons in the gigantocellular nucleus of the medulla oblongata and spontaneous movements of chick embryo.

Electrophysiological study revealed a correlation between changes in bioelectric activity of the reticular gigantocellular nucleus and movements of chick embryos during ontogeny (16-20 days). This relationship increased by the end of embryogenesis. The reticular gigantocellular nucleus is the major source of supraspinal influences on motor activity during ontogeny. Blockade of proprioceptive impulses with myorelaxin inhibited bioelectric activity of the regulatory gigantocellular nucleus, which attests to the activating effect of proprioception.

NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF FUNCTIONAL DE-AFFERENTATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM CAUSED BY WEAK OR ABSENT MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS

In this short article we discuss putative effect of decreased ability for movement in the progressive neuromuscular disorders on the central state of brain activity. We propose possibility that such reduced activation of proprioreceptors can lead to partial ‘functional de-afferentation’. Furthermore, we briefly reviewed neurophysiological evidences of peripheral inputs to the central projections. We discussed contribution of the proprioceptive input after passive, active movements and movement induced by vibration of muscles tendons. Finally we are proposing to introduce simple vibratory protocols in daily life of people with progressive neuromuscular disorders in order to prevent central effects of reduced proprioception to endurance of brain activity of people with intact mental functions.

The perception of body orientation after neck-proprioceptive stimulation. Effects of time and of visual cueing.

Different sensory systems (e.g. proprioception and vision) have a combined influence on the perception of body orientation, but the timescale over which they can be integrated remains unknown. Here we examined how visual information and neck proprioception interact in perception of the "subjective straight ahead" (SSA), as a function of time since initial stimulation. In complete darkness, healthy subjects directed a laser spot to the point felt subjectively to be exactly straight ahead of the trunk. As previously observed, left neck muscle vibration led to a disparity between subjective perception and objective position of the body midline, with SSA misplaced to the left. We found that this displacement was sustained throughout 28 min of continuous proprioceptive stimulation, provided there was no visual input. Moreover, prolonged vibration of neck muscles leads to a continuing disparity between subjective and objective body orientation even after offset of the vibration; the longer the preceding vibration, the more persistent the illusory deviation of body orientation. To examine the role of vision, one group of subjects fixated a central visual target at the start of each block of continuous neck vibration, with SSA then measured at successive intervals in darkness. The illusory deviation of SSA was eliminated whenever visual input was provided, but returned as a linear function of time when visual information was eliminated. These results reveal: the persistent effects of neck proprioception on the SSA, both during and after vibration; the influence of vision; and integration between incoming proprioceptive information and working memory traces of visual information.

Emmert's law in the dark: active and passive proprioceptive effects on positive visual afterimages.

The relationship between apparent size and apparent distance is given by Emmert's law, which states that a retinal image is proportional in size to the distance of the surface it is projected upon. This principle also applies to retinal afterimages in that they, too, will change in apparent size if distance cues suggest that the location of the object onto the retinal image has been altered. It has also been known for some time that non-retinal cues can produce quantitative and qualitative effects on an afterimage when it is viewed in the dark. In the present two studies, positive afterimages of an observer's hand, as well as objects held by that hand, were used as targets to investigate the effects on size-constancy scaling of moving the hand to and fro along the line of sight for different distances in the dark. Results show that, when observers focus on a held object, the changes in size predicted by Emmert's law occur in response to both active and passive proprioceptive or haptic cues. The most intriguing result consisted of the finding that, when only the hand is the target, there appears to be a limit to the decrease in apparent hand size. It appears that the visual system 'refuses' to size-scale the hand below a limit it accepts as representative or acceptable of 'its' hand.

Effects of limb proprioception on human linear VOR and pursuit eye movements

Effects of limb proprioception on human linear VOR and pursuit eye movements

Effectiveness of external ankle support. Bracing and taping in rugby union.

Ankle inversion sprain is common in rugby. This review outlines research evidence relating to the effects of external ankle support by means of bracing and taping, on the incidence of ankle injuries, how performance is affected by support, how support may act at the joint (with respect to end range of motion, strength, resistive torque, muscle activation patterns and proprioception) to prevent injury, and how exercise changes the effectiveness of support. In addition, the implications of the laws of rugby for the use of external support are discussed. Prospective epidemiological studies have shown a decrease in the incidence of ankle injury with external ankle support use. The effectiveness of external ankle support was dependent upon the material properties and application method of the tape or brace, and on the athlete's status of ankle stability or previous injury. Experimental studies have indicated that the degree of ankle inversion restriction provided, and the degree of loss of restriction after exercise, were dependent upon the external support tested. External ankle support has been reported to have no effect on performance, or to have an adverse effect on performance in a variety of movement tasks. No prophylactic external ankle support has been shown to improve performance. If an external support is to provide mechanical support to a ligament it should exceed the strength of the ligament, which for the anterior fibular ligament is a force limit of between 6 and 56 kg. Tape can provide only limited mechanical support of the ankle joint complex, but it may have proprioceptive effects. Taping may work as a psychological reminder, so that the athlete consciously moderates lower limb-loading behaviour. There is equivocal evidence of the effect of brace use on ground reaction force excursions, balance ability and ankle strength. It is concluded that while there have been many investigations of the effects of tape and some forms of brace on ankle range of motion with and without exercise, there is equivocal evidence regarding the mechanism by which an external support acts. It is recommended that future research address the effects of external ankle support during dynamic exercise and that brace manufacturers utilise the information in the development of future brace designs to help reduce the risk of ankle inversion sprain injury. As external support can decrease the incidence of ankle inversion sprain the International Rugby Board should consider the use of ankle braces in rugby, allowing for stiff lateral components of the brace.

The Effect of Ankle Bracing and Taping on Joint Position Sense in the Stable Ankle

The purpose of this study was to determine the proprioceptive effects of ankle bracing and taping. Proprioception was assessed in 26 subjects by evaluating ankle joint position sense, which was determined by the subjects' ability to actively reproduce a passively positioned joint angle. Testing was performed at positions of 30° of plantar flexion and 15° of inversion. Each subject underwent four trials at each test angle under three conditions: braced, taped, and control. For the plantar flexion test, both the braced condition and the taped condition significantly enhanced joint position sense when compared to the control condition. There was no significant difference between the braced and taped conditions. For the inversion test, the taped condition significantly enhanced joint position sense compared to the control condition. There was no significant difference between the braced and the control conditions or between the braced and the taped conditions. This study demonstrates that ankle bracing and taping improve joint position sense in the stable ankle.

Control of the body vertical by vestibular and proprioceptive inputs

The study examines the influence of vestibular and leg proprioceptive cues on the maintenance of the body vertical in human stance. Vestibular body orientation cues were changed by applying bipolar currents to both mastoid bones (cosine-bell wave form of 3.3 s duration, 1 mA current intensity). Proprioceptive input was modified by vibrating the tibialis anterior muscle (at f = 90 Hz, step of 5 s duration and 1 mm amplitude). Furthermore, the vestibular stimulus was paired with the muscle vibration using three different temporal relationships between the stimuli. Body lean responses were analyzed in terms of sway trajectories of the center of foot pressure on the body support surface (horizontal plane). With the anode on the right mastoid, vestibular body lean response was essentially straight towards the right side, and with the anode on left mastoid towards the left side. Vibration of right tibialis anterior muscle induced an almost straight body lean forward and to the right. Upon combined stimulation, responses with complex trajectory resulted, which depended on the stimulus interval. These responses reflected a superposition of the individual vestibular and proprioceptive effects. The results show that the body vertical is under the continuous control of leg proprioceptive and vestibular inputs, which sum linearly. We present a concept according to which these inputs are used for establishing a reference system for the control of the body vertical.

The Effects of Optic Flow, Proprioception, and Texture on Novice Locomotion in Virtual Environments

The ability of a user to move to different locations within a virtual environment (VE) is a fundamental action that subserves the activities of exploration and manipulation. By empirical analogy, the perceptual information used to locomote to a target within a virtual environment is compared to the perceptual information used to walk to a location in the real world. An experiment is reported that had participants move to a location as accurately as possible within a VE where a target object was presented. The amount of visual feedback available to participants was manipulated. Three conditions were compared: static viewing of the target and virtual environment before locomotion, the disappearance of the target object as movement to the object was initiated, and locomotion to the target while both object and environment were present. In addition, the composition of virtual environments was either textured or polygonal. Error measures indicated that users locomote within VE's with less accuracy than those that walk blindfolded in the real world. Texture had its largest effect on the accuracy of movement when optic flow was not available, that is, static estimates of distance. Discussions center on the relative contribution of visual, cognitive, and proprioceptive information to VE user movement accuracy.

Postural Sway Analysis of a Teenager with Childhood Lead Intoxication - A Case Study

We had an opportunity to study a 15-year-old boy, evaluating the long-term effect of early childhood lead (Pb) poisoning on the maturation of postural balance. Postural balance (or sway) was quantified using a microprocessor-based Force Platform System along with four postural tasks specifically designed to indirectly challenge and/or minimize the effect of vision, proprioception and vestibular systems relevant for postural stability. The Pb-intoxicated patient showed increased postural sway compared to those of non-poisoned young adults and a 14-year-old boy for postural tasks requiring input from higher centers. A review of historical information and results of the physical and neurological examinations did not reveal an alternative explanation for this patient's postural sway abnormalities. These responses are also comparable to those noted in younger children with chronic Pb-exposure histories. In summary, this case study gives suggestive evidence that early excessive exposure to Pb can have long-term, detrimental neurological effects as reflected by postural stability. Measurement of postural balance appears to be a sensitive research methodology to assess subclinical neurological effects of remote lead intoxication.

Posturographic evaluation of the proprioceptive effect of ankle orthoses in healthy volunteers

This study analyses the proprioceptive effect of wearing a unilateral and then bilateral ankle orthosis on 34 healthy volunteer subjects by posturography. An elastic orthosis with a ligamentous support band was used, and evaluation was performed by a posturographic statokinesimetric platform. Three tests, one without an orthosis, one with one orthosis, and one with two orthoses, were recorded for each volunteer. The results and statistical analyses demonstrated a significant difference in the antero-posterior measurement between the test without ankle orthosis and the tests with one and with two orthoses. This study provides information about the prophylactic effect of wearing a flexible support; it appears that there are important inter-individual variations in postural equilibrium, and the wearing of prophylactic ankle orthoses should be reserved for subjects after a posturographic examination.

Effectiveness of taping for the prevention of ankle ligament sprains.

The effectiveness of taping in the prevention of sports injuries has only been studied in detail with regard to the lateral ligaments of the ankle. It appears that taping can protect against injury. The mechanism by which taping works is not certain, but mechanical factors play a role which decreases with exercise. The major effect of taping may be its proprioceptive effect on underlying muscle groups.

Descending Interneurones of the Locust Reporting Deviation from Flight Course: What is their role in Steering

ABSTRACT Some descending intemeurones (DNs) in insects encode deviation from flight course. Intracellular recording reveals their inputs (from eyes, wind hairs, proprioceptive information from the neck and in some cases ocelli). Intracellular stimulation during flight reveals their motor effects. All components of steering (modification of wing stroke, ruddering with the hind legs, ruddering with the abdomen and head rotation) can be initiated by single DNs. Steering in flight involves the concerted action of at least 10 pairs of DNs synapsing with motor neurones and premotor intemeurones. The whole system forms an autopilot, well suited for corrective steering. It is modulated principally by head movements, which have both optical and proprioceptive effects: compensatory head move-ments increase the accuracy of correctional steering by reducing overshoot, and disable the autopilot during turns evoked by directional pulsed ultrasound for purposes of bat-evasion. DNs responding specifically to visual flow fields are also known, but appear to be related to control of velocity rather than to steering.

Does impulse noise induce vestibular disturbances?

The effect of impulse noise on postural stability was evaluated in 54 subjects from the Finnish army, who were suffering from acute hearing loss caused by exposure to firearms noise. For referents we used 20 non-exposed army recruits and 39 civilian volunteers. The effects of vision, pressoreceptor function and proprioception were stepwise excluded or altered, leaving mainly the vestibular guidance of postural control intact. Since the postural perturbation was fairly smooth during these instances we assume that the condition evaluates mainly the function of the otolith organs in guiding stance. We found no difference in any of the test conditions used, between normal controls, army controls and impulse noise exposed subjects. Furthermore, there was no dose response with body sway and severity of hearing loss. The results indicate that impulse noise may not be the cause of significant functional changes in the vestibular system that can account for noise-induced postural instability.

Chapter 9 Effects of proprioceptive inputs on vestibulo-ocular and vestibulospinal mechanisms

Effects of proprioceptive inputs on the oculomotor and the skeletomotor system in general, and on the vestibular reflexes of these systems in particular, are considered. As concluded from the literature and from our own experimental data, proprioceptive effects on gaze stabilization appear to be weak and equivocal in normal adults as concerns the slow components of the eye reflex. By contrast, given a certain behavioural set, proprioceptive effects on saccadic gaze shifts were found to be prominent and unequivocal. It is postulated that the proprioceptive input in normal adults is involved in mechanisms that select between two different behavioural states, one being related to the maintenance of spatial orientation of the self relative to the outer world, the other to a reorientation. With respect to the vestibulospinal system, preliminary evidence for a gating of this system by proprioceptive inputs is presented.

Reflex control of acute postural asymmetry and compensatory symmetry after a unilateral vestibular lesion

The roles of certain multisensory tonic postural reflexes in determining acute postural asymmetry and compensatory symmetry were studied in guinea-pigs after a unilateral vestibular neurectomy. The frequency of uncompensated eye nystagmus is modulated by neck proprioception, limb afferent blockade and orientation to gravity. The effect of orientation to gravity upon the frequency of nystagmus is seen for 3–4 days and the neck proprioceptive effect for 2–3 days after the unilateral neurectomy. Neck and trunk asymmetries induced by vestibular input are reversed in direction when the animal is turned upside down and is forced to press its feet against a surface. This reaction is called a Head Deviation Reversal. Restraint of the position of the head during compensation does not alter the compensation of the frequency of eye nystagmus but the rate of compensation of lateral head deviation is altered depending on the position of head restraint. Compensatory symmetry is disrupted by limb blockades and by lesions to the spinal lateral and dorso- and ventrolateral funiculi but not to the dorsal columns. Lesions just above C-1 produce severe body asymmetries in ‘compensated’ animals that last for several days, and the direction of body and eye asymmetries depends on the side of the C-1 lesion. In contrast, lumbar lesions produce milder asymmetries that last for a few hours and that are in the original uncompensated direction regardless of the side of the spinal lesion. It is concluded that the integrative operations that occur during vestibular eye nystagmus and lateral head deviation are under significant reflexive tonic influences from the spinal cord and the otolithic end organs. Spinal influences are, however, a very minor factor in the plasticity mechanisms that underlie eye nystagmus compensation. In contrast the compensation mechanisms for lateral head deviation appear to involve influences from the lower and upper spinal cord. The achievement of compensatory eye and body postural symmetries apparently involves an alteration of the functional relationships between the spinal circuits and the suprasegmental postural circuitry. This compensatory relationship is more pronounced for upper cervical than for lower spinal influences, and does not involve the dorsal column system.