5 Easy Proprioception Exercises by a Physical Therapist

In this blog, NAPA pediatric physical therapist Larissa is here to share some easy proprioception exercises for toddlers and children.

Good proprioception is an important part of everyone’s life whether you are 1 year old or 99 years old.

What is Proprioception?

Proprioception refers to your body’s ability to sense where your body is in space and it is one of the 3 main components of balance.

It comes from nerve input from joints, tendons, and muscles, and informs your brain where your body is and the action and movement your body is doing.

For example, when you move your right arm in front of you, proprioception tells your brain where it is.

First, How Do I Know if My Child has Decreased Proprioception Awareness?

A child with decreased proprioception may appear clumsy and uncoordinated due to having poor motor planning and control and having decreased body awareness.

You may notice that your child has poor postural control or poor balance, having difficulty standing on 1 foot or slumping frequently at their desk.

You may also notice your child having issues with pushing too hard on their pen/pencil during writing, chewing or biting on something to focus, or constantly moving while at their desk, all these issues can be associated with decreased proprioception awareness.

But here is some good news, there are proprioception exercises that can help improve this!

Exercises to improve proprioception focus on increasing the input throughout our body, especially our joints, to provide feedback to our brain on where our body is in space.

Proprioception Exercises and Activities to Try at Home

Here are 5 of my favorite exercises to improve proprioception in children.

1. Army Crawling

Army crawling is a great way to provide a ton of information throughout your body due to the increased surface area on the floor and the effort of pulling/pushing yourself forward with your limbs.

To make it even more fun, build a low “fort” made of blankets and cushions and then have your child army crawl through it.

The weight of the blankets and cushions, along with the action of army crawling will provide a lot of deep input and information to your child’s body.

2. Pushing or Pulling a Weighted Sled or Laundry Basket

This can be done standing or on the knees. Add or detract weights depending on your child’s strength level and monitor for good alignment and safety.

If your child is leaning their body on the sled/basket, cue them to utilize their arms to push.

3. Jumping

Jumping up and down, jumping on a bed or couch, or jumping off of a raised surface, all provide a lot of information to our body. Just make sure your child is safe, and maybe decide beforehand which items you want to prompt your child to jump on. Because if you do it for exercise, they are for sure going to do it for fun later!

4. Climbing Raised Surfaces

Using both of your arms and legs for climbing is not only a great activity for improving coordination but the push and pull of their limbs provides great input through their muscles and tendons.

This increases their awareness of where their body is in space.

5. Carrying Heavy Objects

This can be done with 1 object in both hands together or placing 1 object in each hand.

The weight of the object will increase the use of your child’s limbs and core, yet again giving great input to their brain.

So, Mom and Dad, have those kids of yours help you carry in those groceries!

About the Author

Larissa Perry, PT, DPT, grew up in the Pacific Northwest but moved down to Southern California to complete her Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from Loma Linda University.

She has been a Physical Therapist for almost 8 years but has specialized in Pediatrics for the last 5 years.

Larissa loves working within the pediatric population as she can incorporate play and silly songs into her sessions to make therapy fun.

About NAPA Center

At NAPA Center, we take an individualized approach to therapy because we understand that each child is unique with very specific needs.

We embrace differences with an understanding that individualized programs work better.

For this reason, no two therapeutic programs are alike.

If your child needs our services, we will work closely with you to select the best therapies for them, creating a customized program specific to your child’s needs and your family’s goals.

Let your child’s journey begin today by contacting us to learn more.

Thank You!

We want to wrap up by extending our gratitude to thank you for stopping by today!

What proprioception exercises do you recommend?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

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