Kinesthesia: The role of muscle receptors

Abstract

The kinesthetic sense, the sense of position and movement of our limbs, has been the subject of speculation for more than 400 years. The present-day view is that it is signaled principally by muscle spindles, with a subsidiary role played by skin and joint receptors. The problem with muscle spindles as position sensors is that they are able to generate impulses in response to muscle length changes as well as from fusimotor activity. The central nervous system must be able to distinguish between activity from the two sources. Recent observations on position sense after fatigue and during load-bearing suggest that an additional source of kinesthetic information comes from a centrally generated sensation, the sense of effort. This has consequences for kinesthesia in the presence of the force of gravity. A contribution from central feedback mechanisms to the sense of effort is relevant to certain clinical conditions.

Effect of gravity-like torque on goal-directed arm movements in microgravity

“…There is also some evidence that muscle spindle firing modifications during active contraction against a load strongly influence position sense on Earth (Allen et al 2008;Ansems et al 2006;Proske 2006). In addition, following Weber's intuition that "our muscles always perceive space as affected by gravity" (Weber 1922), several researchers have explored subjects' ability to match the position of their forearms submitted to differential loads in normogravity.…”

Comparison of the Duration of Maintained Calf Muscle Flexibility After Static Stretching, Eccentric Training on Stable Surface, and Eccentric Training on Unstable Surfaces in Young Adults With Calf Muscle Tightness

“…muscles spindle and golgi tendon organs) play a key role in the proprioception of movement. The calf muscle tendon units are sensitive to changes in muscle tension while the spindles are sensitive to changes in muscle fiber length (Proske, 2006). So, it is considerd that if it is trained in lack of stability, it can affect to the length of the muscle fiber because of the operation of spindle.…”

A fadiga muscular diminui a sensação de posição do ombro em andebolistas

“…Para a maioria dos receptores, um aumento da taxa de descarga representa um aumento da intensidade do estímulo. Para o fuso muscular uma taxa de descarga elevada representa um músculo alongado (24) . Desta forma, seria expectável que o erro relativo, que em repouso era positivo, se tivesse aproximado do zero ou eventualmente se tornasse negativo (sobrestimação da posição alvo); uma vez que a dessensibilização do fuso muscular ao alterar a sua capacidade de detectar de forma precisa o alongamento muscular, iria determinar a percepção de posições de alongamento menores do que a posição "real".…”