Proprioceptive consequences of tendon vibration during movement

Abstract

1. Previous studies have used tendon vibration to investigate kinesthetic illusions in the isometric limb and end point control in the moving limb. These previous studies have shown that vibration distorts the perceptions of static joint angle and movement and causes systematic errors in the end point of movement. In this paper we describe the effects of tendon vibration during movement while human subjects performed a proprioceptively coordinated motor task. In an earlier study we showed that the CNS coordinates this motor task-a movement sequence-with proprioceptive information related to the dynamic position and velocity of the limb. 2. When performing this movement sequence, each subject sat at a table and opened the right hand as the right elbow was passively rotated in the extension direction through a prescribed target angle. Vision of the arm was prevented, and the movement velocity was changed randomly from trial to trial, leaving proprioception as the only useful source of kinematic information with which to perform the task. 3. In randomly occurring trials, vibration was applied to the tendon of the biceps brachii, a muscle that lengthens during elbow extension. In some experiments the timing of tendon vibration was varied with respect to the onset of elbow rotation, and in other experiments the frequency of vibration was varied. In each experiment we compared the accuracy of the subject's response (i.e., the elbow angle at which the subject opened the hand) in trials with tendon vibration with the accuracy in trials without tendon vibration. 4. The effect of tendon vibration depended on the frequency of vibration. When the biceps tendon was vibrated at 20 Hz, subjects opened the hand after the elbow passed through the target angle ("overshooting"). Overshooting is consistent with an underestimate of the actual displacement or velocity of the elbow. Vibration at 30 Hz had little or no effect on the elbow angle at hand opening. Vibration at 40 Hz caused subjects to open the hand before the elbow reached the target angle ("undershooting"). Undershooting is consistent with an overestimate of the actual displacement or velocity of the elbow. The size of the error depended on the velocity of the passively imposed elbow rotation. 5. The effect of tendon vibration also depended on the timing of vibration. If 40-Hz vibration began at the onset of movement, the subject undershot the target. If 40-Hz vibration started 5 s before movement onset and continued throughout the movement, the undershoot error increased in magnitude. However, if 40-Hz vibration started 5 s before movement onset and then stopped at movement onset, the subject overshot the target. When vibration was shut off during movement, a transition occurred from an over-shooting error to an undershooting error at a time that depended on the velocity of elbow rotation. 6. In a separate experiment, subjects were instructed to match either the perceived dynamic position or the perceived velocity of rotation imposed on the right elbow by actively rotati...

Whole-body vibration alters proprioception in the trunk

“…This stimulation, which can cause kinesthetic illusions of muscle lengthening, has also been demonstrated to have longer term effects after removal of the vibration (Cordo et al, 1995, Shinohara, 2005, Wierzbicka et al, 1998. These effects include increases in the discharge threshold of the Ia afferents and inhibition of Ia terminals (Hayward et al, 1986, Hultborn et al, 1987, Shinohara, 2005.…”

“…Both of these effects have been attributed to muscle spindle organ sensitivity to vibration (Cordo et al, 1995, Feldman and Latash, 1982, Roll and Vedel, 1982, Shinohara, 2005, Wierzbicka et al, 1998.…”

Ankle proprioception is not targeted by exercises on an unstable surface

“…We think this choice is justifiable for two reasons. First, results in microneurography studies have demonstrated a major role of muscle spindles in proprioception (Cordo et al 1995;Goodwin et al 1972a;Roll and Vedel 1982) and muscle spindles are the primary sensory resource of information for maintaining balance during upright stance . Second, anesthetizing joint receptors only results in an increased positioning error in passive repositioning (Konradsen et al 1993).…”

“…Muscle spindles play a major role in proprioception (Cordo et al 1995;Goodwin et al 1972a;Roll and Vedel 1982). In studies on the role of proprioception in standing, vibration is used to analyze the relative contribution of a peripheral proprioceptive signal to the total motor output.…”

Neck muscle vibration can improve sensorimotor function in patients with neck pain

“…Vibration to the muscles alters afferent discharge of muscle spindles [31], which in turn can affect the body perception [32]. The alterations in afferent discharge results in excitatory or inhibitory input on a-motoneurons, depending on the duration of the applied vibration [33] and the frequency of the vibration intensity.…”