Mastering Balance and Control: A Guide to Proprioception Exercises
September 19, 2024
Proprioception is one of our most remarkable ‘senses’. Also known as kinesthesia, proprioception helps us ‘know’ the current position of all parts of our body, how they’re moving and the forces acting upon them.
It’s what allows you to hold a bottle of water to your mouth without needing to think where to move your hand. When you’re running, it allows you to confidently place one foot in front of the other without constantly looking at your feet. When you’re playing a sport like tennis, it allows you to move your racket to the right place to hit a ball without always having your eye on the racket.
And you can improve this ‘sixth sense’ too. Proprioception exercises can help anyone improve their balance and coordination, and can bring enormous benefits - whether you are a professional athlete, are just taking up a new sport, or are recovering from injury.
In this guide, we’ll define proprioception, and explain how you use it when playing sport. You’ll also find a variety of proprioception exercises that you can build into your training routine.
What is proprioception?
According to the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, proprioception can be defined as: “the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body”.
Throughout your muscles, tendons, joints, skin and inner ear, there is a huge network of proprioceptors. These are neurons (nerve cells) which can sense movement, position and force. They are continually sending information from the rest of your body to the brain, where it is merged with information from your other senses (such as sight, hearing or your sense of balance). This helps your brain ‘calculate’ how to move through space.
To understand the importance of proprioception, imagine you’re running on a trail. At one point, your foot comes into contact with some mud, and it starts to slip out of place - putting you at risk of a tumble.
Now, if you didn’t have proprioceptors, the only way you could know that you were starting to slip would be by looking at where your feet were. Fortunately, the proprioceptors in your feet sense the slipping motion, and send this information to your brain at lightning speed. In turn, your brain sends out a signal to your body to compensate for the slip, so you maintain your balance, and can keep on running.
There are countless other proprioception examples that show how important this sense is in sport:
When you serve in tennis or squash, your eye should be on the ball as you throw it into the air. Proprioception means you can swing the racket up behind you and know where your arm is. That lets you connect the racket with the ball without looking where your racket hand is.
When you’re playing volleyball, netball or handball, proprioception allows you to continue running while your eye is on the ball.
If you’re lining up a penalty in hockey, proprioception allows you to step your front foot forward and stroke the ball without needing to look where your feet are moving.
You can improve proprioception with proprioception exercises
As with some of our other senses, it is possible to improve your sense of proprioception with proprioceptive training. All humans (and indeed, all other creatures) are born with proprioception, but through learning and practice, it can get better. If you’ve ever learned to play an instrument, type on a keyboard, or cycle a bike, you’ll have ‘trained’ this sense already.
Proprioception training is incredibly valuable if you play almost any sport - and it has just as many benefits as other improvement activities like stretching, strength training or warming up. Benefits of proprioception training in sport include:
Reduces injury risk: Multipledifferentstudies have looked into the effects of a proprioception training program on sports injury risk. Results from numerous studies in different sports show that people who do proprioception exercises are less likely to experience twisted ankles, sprains and other injuries.
By training this sense, your body simply gets better at perceiving slight changes in position and can correct for them. That means you’re less likely to lose your balance and get injured.
Helps with injury recovery: If you’ve sustained an injury such as a twisted ankle, this can damage your proprioceptors in that area, and make them less effective. That in turn increases your risk of a repeat injury. But the good news is that doing proprioception exercises can help ‘retrain’ those damaged nerve cells. A study found that people who’d had an injury and who did proprioception training were able to reduce chronic ankle instability problems.
Improved performance: Doing proprioception exercises can also improve your all-round skills and performance when running or doing other kinds of sport. For example, a study of teenage football players found that those who did proprioceptive training scored significantly better on tests of balance, agility and other fitness factors.
9 proprioception exercises for sport
There are many different kinds of proprioception exercises which you can use as part of your regular training routine. We’ve categorised these exercises as ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ - you can gradually begin doing more complex movements as you get more confident.
One advantage of these exercises is that they are easy to do, and don’t require a significant amount of time. Spending just a few minutes doing the following exercises every couple of days will lead to real improvements in your balance. You can even include proprioceptive exercises in your warm up before runs, games or training sessions.
Beginners’ proprioception exercises
If you’re recovering from an injury, feel unsteady on your feet, or aren’t so confident with your sense of balance, the following simple proprioception exercises are a great place to start.
1. Single leg balance with eyes closed
This is the most ‘basic’ form of proprioceptive training. By closing your eyes, your brain has less information about what’s happening in the world around you, so your proprioceptors have to ‘work’ harder. Here’s how to do it:
Standing up on a flat, stable surface, lift one leg off the ground, find your balance, and close your eyes.
Try to hold your balance for 10 seconds at first.
Switch to the other leg and repeat. You may notice you’re more stable on one leg or the other.
Over time, gradually increase the amount of time you balance.
2. Single leg pick up
By shifting your weight as you balance, this exercise makes your proprioceptors become more attuned to changes in weight distribution in your body. Here’s how to do it:
Place a light object such as a cone, the lightest kettlebell or even an upright book on the floor in front of you.
Start standing on both feet, then hinge at your hips, so your right leg extends behind you and your left leg stays on the floor, with a slight bend at the knee.
You’re aiming for a ‘T’ shape, with a straight horizontal line along your back to your right heel.
Reach down and pick up the object.
Hinge back up to standing, then hinge down again to put the object back on the ground.
Alternate between legs.
3. Single leg hops
This is an especially good proprioception running exercise because it mimics the balance and positioning required when you run, but focuses on one foot at a time. Here’s how to do it:
Get into position by lifting your left leg behind you, finding your balance in your right leg.
Simply hop up and down on your right foot, landing on the ball of your foot then springing up again.
Begin with as little as 10 hops per foot and alternate between legs as you get more confident.
Intermediate proprioception exercises
As your proprioception improves, you can begin building some of these more advanced proprioception exercises into your routine. Some of them require equipment or a partner.
4. Single leg squat
This exercise will engage the proprioceptors in your knees and ankles - helping hone them for the needs of many different sports.
Stand up straight on a flat, stable surface.
Extend your arms horizontally in front of you.
While balancing on your right leg, lift your left leg in front of you, so it’s as close to horizontal as possible.
Bend your right leg and squat down to the floor, making sure the left leg doesn’t touch the ground.
Push up through your right leg to standing and repeat the squat three times on each side.
This proprioception exercise can be tricky. You may find it helpful to do single leg squats near a wall, so you can reach out for balance if needed.
5. Single leg balance while catching a ball
This exercise trains your proprioception by making you balance while also focusing your attention on catching a ball.
Find a partner and choose a lightweight ball.
Stand on one leg and get your partner to gently throw the ball to you and catch it while remaining standing on one leg.
Throw the ball back to your partner.
Switch to the other leg after five catches and throws.
6. Single leg balance on an unsteady surface
This is a fantastic proprioception exercise for knee and ankle control. It requires equipment such as a balance ball or a Bosu ball - which should be available at most gyms and leisure centres.
Find a Bosu ball, a balance buble, air cushion or a similar platform.
Balance on the ball with one leg, continually adjusting your weight and position.
Aim to hold your balance for 15 seconds, then switch to the other leg.
Advanced proprioception exercises
The following kinds of proprioception training are a little more challenging. Start ‘low and slow’ with these exercises. Soon enough you’ll be able to do them with confidence.
7. Agility ladder runs
Agility ladder runs are a great form of proprioception training, and they require a lot of balance, stability and agility. Here’s how to do them:
Lay out an agility ladder on the floor.
Starting with your right foot, step into the first box, then bring your left foot into the first box, before stepping into the second box with your right foot.
Run down the ladder, then alternate, so your left foot goes first.
There are many different variations of agility ladder runs. You could do a side-to-side run. You could also try an in-out shuffle, where you move up the ladder by stepping into a box from the right side, moving out to the left, then forward up the ladder.
8. Single leg box jump
This is a great example of an exercise that will really train the proprioceptors in your feet, ankle, legs and knees. Here’s how to do them:
You will need a stable gym box or a step if doing this exercise outdoors.
Stand on both feet facing the box, swing your arms up and leap forward.
Land on your right foot only, then step back down.
Repeat five times on each leg.
9. Bosu ball squat
This is definitely one of the more challenging proprioception exercises. It requires a lot of balance, and trains your ankle and knee proprioceptors to continually adjust to an unstable surface.
Place a Bosu ball on the floor with the ‘ball’ side to the ground, and the flat plastic platform facing up.
Place a foot on either side of the platform, and shift your weight so you are balancing on the ball.
Now, perform a squat while maintaining your balance, then return to standing and repeat 10 times.
More exercises: Weight training to improve running speed
Proprioception for Injury Rehabilitation
Proprioception training is often used in injury rehabilitation, after surgery (for things like hip and knee replacements) or in treating certain health conditions. You will work with a physiotherapist who will guide you through a range of techniques, such as:
Balance exercises
Yoga or Tai Chi
Vibration therapy
Joint mobilisation and massage
Wearing textured insoles in your shoes
Walking barefoot on a textured surface
Everyone can benefit from proprioception exercises
Whatever your experience level and whatever your sport, you will continually be engaging your proprioception system when you play or go running. And this is why it’s so valuable to build some proprioception exercises into your training routine. As your proprioception improves, your balance and stability should get better, you can expect to lower your injury risk, and you can run, jump, hit or swing with more confidence.
Common questions about proprioception exercises
We’ve answered your frequently asked questions about proprioception training:
What is proprioception, and why is it important?
Proprioception is your sense of movement, body position and force. Your proprioception system ‘tells’ your brain where parts of your body are in space and how they’re moving without you needing to look at them. It’s an incredibly important sense because it helps you move around the world with ease and confidence.
Who can benefit from proprioception exercises?
Everyone can benefit from proprioceptive exercises - from elite athletes, through to people recovering from injury or surgery, or those with chronic pain. The exercises ‘train’ the proprioceptive system to transmit information about your body’s position to the brain more effectively, and that means it gets better over time.
How often should I do proprioception exercises?
If you are aiming to improve your stability in a sport such as running, football, hockey, tennis or badminton, aim to do two or three proprioception training sessions per week. They don’t require much time - as little as 30 seconds per exercise is enough to begin with. On the other hand, if you’re doing proprioception exercises to recover from surgery or an injury, you’ll need to do more - speak with a physiotherapist for further guidance.
Can proprioception exercises prevent injuries in sports?
Yes, several studies have found strong evidence that proprioception training can reduce the incidence of injuries among people who play many different kinds of sport.
Do I need special equipment for proprioception exercises?
Not necessarily. Many proprioception exercises require nothing but your body and a flat surface. That said, some of the more advanced kinds of proprioceptive training do use equipment like balance bubbles, Bosu balls, boxes or agility run ladders.