What is proprioception?

Proprioception is the body sense that allows you to know about what your body is doing at any one moment. It helps you to know where your body is in space, how to move your body, and the amount of force to use when moving your body.

Where are the proprioceptors located?

Proprioceptors are found in your muscles and joints.

How do you make proprioceptors work?

Proprioceptors are activated when you move your body in any way with force. For example, if you close your eyes and someone put your arm out to the side, you would know that your arm was out to the side even though you’re not looking at your arm.

Proprioceptors are most active when they are actively engaged in heavy work. This means pushing, pulling, dragging, lifting or hanging.  Think about a time when you rearranged the furniture in your house. Or how about that time that you went roller skating or ice skating?  Your proprioceptors  gave you lots of information about how to grade your muscle force or response in order for you to actively be able to move your body through space while performing those actions. And afterwards, you felt calm and organized.

Energy up or energy down?

Proprioception can be energizing. When children engage in proprioceptive activities they enjoy, the overall act of performing the physical activity will help to make them feel energized and alert. This is great for your under-responsive child. Children who under respond need more energy engaging activities in order for them to be focused and ready to learn.

Proprioception can also be calming and organizing. When an activity is performed over a period of time, (think of furniture rearranging, gardening, yoga), AND the person finds meaning in it (basically they love doing it), the proprioception will be organizing to the nervous system. This is important for children who are over-responsive. Performing heavy work activities help to calm their nervous system and therefore through intensive weeks of heavy work interspersed throughout the day, the proprioception will help their body be less over responsive to sensory.

What are some proprioceptive activities?

There are many activities that help with proprioception that you can expose your child to.  The question is which one will they find to be engaging?  How can you help co-regulate them during the activity to keep them engaged?  The point is not to go out there all “willy nilly” picking out proprioceptive activities.  Think about what your child enjoys or might enjoy doing and go from there.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Use 3 pound weighted balls as asteroids and slam them into a pillow.
• Play Santa and sleigh – Pull friends on a blanket and drag them over a carpet while delivering presents.
• Dig in the dirt with a real shovel to find “treasure”.
• After the grocery store, have your child help carry the groceries into the “space” house and put the food away.
• Make a sandwich or burrito with your child in the middle.  Use pillows to add condiments all along your child’s body in firm pressure. (Never their face or head)
• Climb the pillow mountain to get puzzle pieces while completing a puzzle.
• Hang from a chin up bar while getting ready to perform a “space walk”.
• Use resistance bands to “sling shot” stuffed animals.  (make sure they are tied to something solid so it doesn’t come untied and sling shot you).