{"id":8915,"date":"2024-11-02T11:38:19","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T11:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/?p=8915"},"modified":"2024-11-02T11:38:19","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T11:38:19","slug":"what-the-heck-is-proprioception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/what-the-heck-is-proprioception\/","title":{"rendered":"What the heck is proprioception?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Hello everyone<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Proprioception is a word that I have rapidly become acquainted with since I became a tad unsteady on my pins. What exactly do I mean when I write this word? Apparently, proprioception is the body\u2019s ability to sense your movement in your environment. In effect it is the ability to be spatially aware and have good balance, which I patently don\u2019t – at the moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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I have learnt that we all have proprioceptor type sensors on our nerve endings in our muscles, tendons, joints, skins and inner ear and these deliver information about our movement and position to our brain, which then gives feedback to our legs, feet and ankles as we walk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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As you can imagine, proprioception plays a crucial role in our ability to balance ourselves and know where we are in any particular space. \u00a0In fact, our ability to balance comes from three critically important sensory inputs: the vestibular system (your ears<\/strong>); vision (your eyesight<\/strong>) and proprioception (touch<\/strong>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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And what do you know, this ability to balance can reduce \u2013 you\u2019ve guessed it \u2013 as we age. This reduction can also happen after injury or illness. Hmm. I wonder if Covid plays a role in this unsteadiness I have? Because I\u2019ve had Covid twice now, and after each bout of Covid I\u2019ve become unsteady.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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So, what to do? Personally, I think my unsteadiness is due to multiple factors and I am being really proactive in how I approach this unwanted and unexpected appearance of a stage in life that I find annoying rather than anything else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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But I say unexpected as I rather think this balance issue has been brewing for some time. Two winters ago, I became a bit unsteady after having \u2018flu, then Covid. But I got over it. This winter past, I got the 100-day cough and again I was unsteady, but got over it, and in neither instance did I need a stick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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And then I got another cough in July, and I think now this was Covid as once more I had that extreme fatigue after it was over, plus I had an altered sense of smell for a couple of weeks. The unsteadiness came back but this time I have not regained my balance. Significantly, it became far worse on the cruise whilst going off <\/em><\/strong>the ship. Was this my inner ear that had adjusted to the swell of the sea, reacting to walking on dry land?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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So that\u2019s my vestibular system. Then my eyes are cooking my cataracts nicely with everything in the distance seeming slightly off. And that\u2019s my vision. I am on the waiting list btw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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In addition, I am ageing so that\u2019s my sensors down a bit. If I\u2019m crossing a road sometimes not even clinging onto his arm but just touching Mr F\u2019s jacket, that is sufficient to steady me.\u00a0 Also, I have tendonitis in my Right glute area which doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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And there you have it, dear readers, several factors: eyes, ears and touch, which are contributing to my unsteadiness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Again, I say to myself what to do. And I am likening this to a feat of detection and elimination of various ailments and problems. For me, information is power, as is doing something, anything, to mitigate this unwanted situation of not feeling safe when walking out and about.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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So, first of all, I have made an appointment with a consultant,<\/strong> a move that has been supported by my General Practitioner. After all what can a GP do in 10 minutes. I\u2019ve seen the GP twice now, the first time I was not happy that he put it all down to my age. But the second time he listened to my views. Not that he was able to offer me much in the way of advice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Secondly, I am seriously considering having my cataracts sorted privately<\/strong>. It\u2019s a big step to take financially and I haven\u2019t initiated it yet. I want to see if I can get the consultant I\u2019m seeing, and my optician to move my place up the waiting list. As a strong supporter of the NHS I\u2019m not keen on doing that, but I will take advice from the experts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The third thing is that I have upped my 1-2-1s with my Personal Trainer<\/strong> to twice a week for 5 weeks. I have been working with Sarah since 2018 and with her very skilled help I have become so much stronger \u2013 and more upright as I have scoliosis, which was much worse before 2018. We are actively working on my balance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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And lastly, in between my 1-2-1s I am doing several exercises<\/strong> (see below) and walking +++ Btw the walking is done on the flat and is mostly me walking into the centre of Lewes. I am not doing any country walks as even when steady I don\u2019t particularly like uneven ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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I\u2019ve also considered CBT and counselling<\/strong> \u2013 because is this all in my head??? Am I just being fearful??? I did indeed have 5 sessions with a counsellor but apart from finding out that I have a negative view of ageing (you know at this particular point of time, I think it\u2019s logical to feel a bit negative) counselling is not particularly practical.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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So, what am I saying to you all, do not accept any suggestion that your conditions are just about old age, instead seek out advice and get all the practical help you can<\/strong> \u2013 in my case getting a stick and booking appointments with and using experts. Look for information, because knowledge gives you power.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Then also, do eliminate anything that might be serious. I am totally up to be looked at closely, after all, my grandmother had Parkinson\u2019s, but the GP said no, it\u2019s nothing like that.\u00a0 OK. Fine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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And back to the exercises. Do Google and look for the classic exercises that are helpful for older people and their balance. Also note that I am not a qualified anything now, so do not begin exercising or over-exerting yourself if you are frail or unsteady. Always ask your medical practitioner for advice first. However here is a link to an exercise guide<\/a> from the UK \u2013 there will be many other sites too, I\u2019m sure. Exercises for balance will probably include:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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  1. Standing on one leg.<\/strong> But be careful and hold on to something when you start this. Aim to hold the leg off the ground for 60 seconds. I can barely do 10 seconds – but that\u2019s normal for me. My balance has never been good. However, that\u2019s no excuse for not aiming to improve.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  2. Sit to stand with your arms crossed<\/strong>. Make sure the chair is firmly against a wall or something solid. Do ten of these and increase as and when.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  3. Tight-rope walk<\/strong>. This is walking heel to toe in a straight line. Ha, ha, lol, etc. as I absolutely cannot do that at all. I always walk with a space as I would fall over if I tried heel to toe. Again, know your limitations but work to improve.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  4. Gentle wall slide<\/strong>. Stand upright with your back to the wall and feet slightly apart a bit away from the wall. Make sure your knees are kept to the middle and in line with your feet. Bend those knees to a squat. Repeat 10 times.<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
  5. Marching<\/strong> \u2013 march on the spot with opposite arm going up. Repeat 10 times each side.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    I also walk around on tip toes, which is good for the calf muscles, and in the bathroom when I am cleaning my teeth I stand on one leg.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    Both my PT and the physio would say that it is consistency that matters more than anything else. So, if you are starting exercises from scratch do a little set of exercises every day. The physio (I saw her for my tendonitis) also believed that consistency of effort was important Do not overdo it. Increase both your walking and exercises slowly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    Have I stuck to that? No, and I\u2019ve learnt my lesson as I overdid it one weekend through doing a lot of housework and walking, and then went to London the next day, and my tendonitis kicked off, and painfully so, for over a week. I won\u2019t do that again! \u00a0Just a little something every single day is the way forward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    That\u2019s all for now, but before I go I just want to say that I often wonder if I am oversharing my issues and let\u2019s be blunt, problems, but what I am advocating is rather than accepting anything that begins, \u2018well when you age\u2026.. or \u2018at your age\u2026..\u2019. Isn\u2019t that infuriating! \u00a0Instead, I say, be proactive and take the attitude that, I will ask for help, I will look for advice, I absolutely will accept all the practical help I can get. And I want to know what\u2019s going on as knowledge, dear reader, is power \u2013 and that\u2019s what we want when we age!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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    With love Penny, the Frugalfashionshopper<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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    P.S. My daughter, her partner and his sister and his mother (younger than me) have all had balance issues after Covid and that is why I am not just accepting that this is all about my age.<\/p>\r\n

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    P.P.S \u00a0Normal service will be resumed next week with some more fashion \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\r\n\"instagram\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a><\/span>
    \"Facebook\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hello everyone   Proprioception is a word that I have rapidly become acquainted with since I became a tad unsteady on my pins. What exactly do I mean when I write this word? Apparently, proprioception is the body\u2019s ability to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[133],"tags":[37,75,140,93],"class_list":["post-8915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attitudes-age","tag-attitudes-and-age","tag-frugal-fashion-shopper","tag-healthy-living","tag-older-women"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8915"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8935,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8915\/revisions\/8935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frugalfashionshopper.co.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}