If you didn't know or couldn't sense your body position, you wouldn't be able to stand, guide food to your mouth, walk, or function normally. What helps us pick up on our body position? How do we know where to walk, or where to reach out our hand to grab our pencil? Kinesthesis is a helpful tool that we naturally have!
- What is kinesthesis (kinesthesia)?
- What are some examples of kinesthesis?
- What is the difference between kinesthesia and proprioception?
- What is the difference between kinesthesis and the vestibular sense?
- What are some kinesthesis disorders?
Kinesthesis Definition
For your body to do what seems like a simple task, there are about 200 muscles that need to speak to each other and instruct each other on how to do a task such as standing up from your chair. There are millions of motion sensors in your muscles, tendons, and joints that work all over the body. These are called proprioceptors, and they help or enable your sense of kinesthesia. This allows you to be aware of your body parts and their position and movements.
Kinesthesis (also referred to as kinesthesia) is how we sense our body's movements. It is our system for sensing the positions and movements of our body parts.
There are sensors in our muscles and joints, but where is the control center for kinesthesia? Brain scans show that kinesthetic sensations are related directly to activity in the posterior parietal cortex and the primary motor cortex.
The parietal cortex is one of the four main lobes of our brain. Its main responsibilities are controlling sensations of touch (such as temperature and pain).
The primary motor cortex, part of the frontal lobe, is responsible for generating signals to activate movement in the body.
Kinesthesis is considered to be contralateral, which means that the right part of the body is controlled by the left side of the brain and vice versa. Full perception requires a healthy contralateral cerebral cortex. This means that the inner networking of nerves is responsible for both sides of the brain and body.
Hand movements, pexels.com
Kinesthesia Examples
What is an example of how you use your sense of kinesthesis? It's simple!
If you raise your hand into the air right now, your body knows exactly where your hand is!
Another easy example is when you are taking notes for a test. You can write easily with your pencil. How does your hand know where to write your notes? Your teacher asks you a question. You look up at your teacher. How did your head know which way to turn so you could see your teacher? Your sense of kinesthesis naturally senses these movements.
Kinesthesia vs Proprioception
What about those proprioceptors that play a role in kinesthesis? How are they different from the sense of kinesthesis?
The proprioceptors are the enablers of the sense of kinesthesia. They are what help kinesthesia do its job. These proprioceptors are located in our muscles, joints, and tendons.
When our proprioception and kinesthesis sense work and communicate together, they use signals from our vestibular sense. What are our vestibular senses, and how do they communicate with both our kinesthesia and proprioception?
Close your eyes. Can you touch your right finger to your nose while keeping your eyes closed? Most likely, you can do it pretty easily! This is thanks to communication between your vestibular and kinesthetic senses. Your proprioceptors are basically guiding your limbs to the place you intend to move or touch.
Our kinesthetic sense is also different from proprioception in that proprioception gives us our sense of balance or equilibrium. If you suddenly had an inner ear infection, your sense of balance will most likely be off. The infection would make your proprioception worse but not your kinesthetic sense. You would be able to walk, but you would have to rely on your sense of sight to keep your balance. If you were to close your eyes as you walked, you might lose your balance.
Kinesthetic sense, pexels.com
Remember: Kinesthesis = the body's motion and movements (behavioral). Proprioception = the body's awareness of its motion and movements (cognitive).
Kinesthesis and Vestibular Sense
How does your vestibular sense help with kinesthesis?
The vestibular sense monitors your head and body positions and movements.
There are two important areas that make up the inner ear. First, there are your fluid-filled semicircular canals that are shaped like a pretzel. The second area is the pair of calcium-crystal–filled vestibular sacs. These areas are important because they tell you the position of your head. If you tilt your head, these two areas of the inner ear send a signal to the cerebellum (the back of your brain). This signal says "hey, we are laying down" or "hey, we are standing now."
Your vestibular sense is quick to react! If you miss a step on the stairs, your vestibular sense quickly sends messages to your skeletal system to decide how to right yourself so that you don't fall down.
Here is a quick guide to remembering the differences between each of these senses:
What are the differences between kinesthesis and vestibular sense? StudySmarter Original
Kinesthesia Disorders
What disorders are associated with kinesthesia? How does damage to the kinesthetic sense impact life functioning? First, how is someone diagnosed with a kinesthesia disorder? There should be a test conducted by a doctor to help determine if someone may have a disorder by ruling out any other possibilities or inabilities. How is that done?
Brief Kinesthesia Test (BKT)
A health professional can test for kinesthesia using the wrist to perform a brief kinesthesia test (BKT). Placing the wrist at an angle, the doctor will begin passively moving it slowly (0.5 to 2 degrees per second) until the person signals or states that they can feel the motion is happening. Basically, the person should be able to tell when their wrist is moving (Mee, 2020).
The patient should be blinded or unable to see their wrist while the test is being performed. Why? Because sensing the movement of our limbs can be influenced by our visual cues!
What if there was a noticeable delay in the person's ability to tell that their wrist was moving?
Peripheral Neuropathy
One disorder commonly associated with kinesthesis is peripheral neuropathy. This is a likely explanation for why someone may not be able to sense the movement of their wrist.
Peripheral neuropathy occurs when there is damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (also known as the peripheral nerves).
Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms
What kind of damage is present in peripheral neuropathy? Often there is damage to the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, brainstem, or even the cerebrum. Reports also point to higher occurrences of this disorder in patients ages 55+ who are at higher risk of experiencing strokes (Nursing Fundamentals, 2022).
Kinesthesia Disorders as a Comorbid Diagnoses
A disordered kinesthesis sense is usually a comorbid diagnosis. This means that it usually comes with another serious illness or disease. One common comorbid diagnosis is Parkinson's disease and a kinesthesia disorder.
Comorbidity means there are two or more diseases or medical conditions present in a patient at the same time.
Those with Parkinson's disease experience advanced issues in mobility and lack the ability to stabilize areas and limbs of the body. Most often, patients will experience rigidity of the body and decreased kinesthetic sensitivity. Research suggests that medication often prescribed for Parkinson's disease patients can affect the functioning of the kinesthetic sense due to both the medication and the presence of the disease (Wright, 2010).
Kinesthesis - Key takeaways
- Kinesthesis (or kinesthesia) is how we sense our body movements. It is our system for sensing the positions and movements of our body parts.
- The proprioceptors are the enablers of the sense of kinesthesia. They are what help kinesthesia do its job. Proprioceptors are located in our muscles, joints, and tendons.
- The vestibular sense monitors your head and body positions and movements.
- A health professional can test for kinesthesia using the wrist to perform a brief kinesthesia test (BKT).
- Peripheral neuropathy occurs when there is damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (also known as the peripheral nerves).
References
- Mee, S. (2020). Wrist Instabilities. Cooper’s Fundamentals of Hand Therapy, 270–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-52479-7.00022-3
- Nursing Fundamentals. (2022). 7.2 Sensory Impairments Basic Concepts – Nursing Fundamentals. Pressbooks. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/chapter/7-2-sensory-impairments-basic-concepts/
- Wright, W. G., Gurfinkel, V. S., King, L. A., Nutt, J. G., Cordo, P. J., & Horak, F. B. (2010). Axial kinesthesia is impaired in Parkinson's disease: effects of levodopa. Experimental neurology, 225(1), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2010.06.016
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