Definition of Kinesthesia (Kinesthesia)

The kinesthesia or kinesthesia is the science of movement, more specifically it covers what is related to perception of movement in relation to the environment.

At any given moment we may be able to perceive where we are located, as well as the exact position of any part of the body in space both when at rest and during movement.

Thus, during a certain activity such as a sports practice, the athlete who executes an action, for example a jump, is able to know exactly where their arms or legs are and where to direct them to achieve their goal without the need for see them.

This knowledge derives from the interpretation information coming from a series of receptors coming from deep structures such as muscles, tendons, joints and even the viscera carried out by the brain. This kinesthetic information is very important to be able to have coordination Y Balance in the movements.

Kinesthesia and proprioception are two different concepts

Kinesthesia is often confused with proprioception. As the word has been described kinesthesia refers to spatial location during movement, while when we speak of proprioception we refer rather to the knowledge of the location of the body as well as everything as well as each of its parts in space.

Proprioception is obtained from the information that is continuously sent to the brain by a series of complex receptors that are activated by stimuli such as pressure, friction, temperature and even the degree of contraction of a muscle.

A simple way to understand the concept of proprioception is with a very quick exercise, if we close our eyes, we are able to direct our hand towards any structure of the body without making a mistake, even if we are not seeing it, that happens because our brain knows exactly where it is located and therefore instructs our hand to follow the path that allows reach it.

The phantom limb

Sometimes amputee patients are able to feel, perceive and locate the missing limb in space as if it still existed, and they may even manifest pain in these areas.

This is due to lesions in the nerve endings that are located in the stump (end of the amputated limb) send abnormal information to the brain, causing the brain to interpret that the structure that was removed is still there Present.

This disorder can be treated, achieving its complete disappearance.

Photos: iStock - cosmin4000 / Johnny Greig