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Glossary

Proprioception

Your body's sense of where it is in space, the "sixth sense" that lets you touch your nose with your eyes closed.

Proprioception is the sense that tells the brain where each body part is, how it is moving, and how much force is being used, without looking. Receptors in muscles, tendons and joints send continuous signals that let you walk down stairs without watching your feet, judge how hard to grip a paper cup, or write without staring at the pencil. A child with poor proprioception may write too hard (breaking pencil tips), too soft (faint marks), crash into furniture, or hug too tightly. OTs build proprioception through "heavy work" activities, pushing, pulling, carrying weighted objects, animal walks, which give the joints and muscles strong sensory input.