Proprioception, or kinesthesia, is the sense of the position and movement of body segments, and it relies upon the presence of receptors embedded in skeletal muscle, tendons, joint capsules, and ligaments.

These specialized receptors respond to stretch or force and provide information on muscle length, muscle tension, and the amount of joint flexion in addition to the rate at which these changes occur.

The immediate detection of this information is of utmost importance for control of movement, and the largest, fastest conducting afferent fibers in the body innervate these receptors to permit rapid transmission of proprioceptive information to the central nervous system. The sensory cell bodies supporting these large afferent fibers are located either in the dorsal root ganglia near the spinal cord or in the trigeminal ganglion in the head, and the centrally projecting axons from these sensory neurons carry this information into the spinal cord and brain. Proprioceptive information is used locally to activate reflexes necessary for the maintenance of muscle tone. Proprioceptive fibers also travel within the central nervous system and provide information essential for the appropriate coordination of muscle groups to maintain posture and to produce effective movement. If for some reason proprioception is disturbed, movements become uncoordinated, a condition known as ataxia. There is also a conscious aspect to proprioception in that we are aware of the position and movement of our limbs without having to look at them.

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