Does Proprioception Really Matter for Hand Function as We Age?

As we get older, everyday tasks like buttoning a shirt, opening a jar, or picking up a cup often become more difficult. While muscle weakness is an obvious reason, researchers wanted to know whether proprioception (our sense of body position and movement) also plays a role.

A recent study involving 184 healthy adults aged 18 to 95 years found an interesting answer: yes—but not in the way we might expect.

The researchers looked at two types of proprioception:

• Low-level proprioception: Simply sensing and comparing the position or size of objects held in the hand.

• High-level proprioception: Combining visual information with proprioception to guide accurate hand movements—a process known as sensorimotor integration.

  
  

What did they find?

Although low-level proprioception declined slightly with age, it did not affect people's ability to perform everyday tasks.

Instead, what really mattered was high-level proprioception. People who were less consistent at integrating what they saw with how they moved their hand took longer to complete a simple daily activity like putting on and buttoning a shirt.

Even more interesting, this relationship became much stronger with age. Older adults with poor sensorimotor integration showed much greater difficulties than younger adults with similar proprioceptive performance.

Why does this matter for physiotherapists?*

The findings suggest that assessing or training traditional joint position sense alone may not be enough.

Instead, rehabilitation should place greater emphasis on sensorimotor integration by using exercises that combine vision and hand movement, such as reaching, grasping, object manipulation, and functional tasks that closely resemble everyday activities.

Take-home message

This study suggests that the consistency of sensorimotor processing—not simply the accuracy of joint position sense—is more important for maintaining hand function as we age. For physiotherapists, this highlights the value of incorporating functional, vision-guided hand training into assessment and rehabilitation, particularly for older adults.

*Disclaimer: The views and interpretations shared in this article are my own and are intended for educational and discussion purposes only. They should not be interpreted as official recommendations or definitive conclusions from the original study.

Source: Robertson LS, Diong J, Butler AA, Humburg P, Gandevia SC, Héroux ME. Variability in cross-modal proprioceptive judgements impair upper limb function across the lifespan. J Appl Physiol. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00013.2026 .