1.

Respect is understanding that everyone’s mind, body and spirit is unique

2. How our body functions is three dimensional . . . it is a neurological, muscular,
skeletal system . . . the neuromusculoskeletal system
3. Anything the body does involves the proprioceptors
4. We can tweak our analysis, rehabilitation, and our training and conditioning to
emphasize the proprioceptive system
5. “Those who don’t hear the music believe the dancer’s mad”
6. Proprioceptors immediately give evidence of their abilities
7. To attack the proprioceptors we need to gradually tweak outside their
preferred patterns
8. Tweakology is funology
9. Transforming through the Chain ReactionTM proprioceptive drill is a result of
understanding function
10. Proprioceptive training creates flexibility of the system to get it done right
and efficiently
11. Proprioception falls within the litmus test of function

©2002 Functional Design Systems

v3.8 PROPRIOCEPTORS
The Spirit of Function
By: Gary Gray, PT

OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROPRIOCEPTORS

FUNCTIONAL GUIDE
To assimilate up-to-date information and knowledge
about the proprioceptors. To learn how to apply
effective functional techniques when testing, training
and rehabilitating the proprioceptors.

To understand and appreciate the tri-plane Chain

ReactionTM principles as they apply to the proprioceptors.

HOW TO USE THIS FUNCTIONAL GUIDE

This functional guide can be used as a convenient
summary of the program’s contents to take with you after
viewing. You can also use this guide as a
notebook; space has been provided so that you can
make notes on relevant tracts as you watch them.
STRATEGY 1

Strategically appreciating the three dimensional uniqueness of everyone’s mind,

body and spirit

STRATEGY 2

Strategically understanding how the proprioceptors are the spirit of function

STRATEGY 3

Strategically gaining an in-depth understanding of the function and integration

of each type of proprioceptor

STRATEGY 4

Strategically adding progressive functional conflict to enhance analysis,

rehabilitation and training skills
STRATEGY 5

Strategically expanding the thresholds of success

STRATEGY 6

Strategically training and conditioning to facilitate proprioceptive reaction

STRATEGY 7

Strategically taking advantage of our transformation abilities with the golf swing

STRATEGY 8

Strategically realizing the miracle of the proprioceptors

Life is three dimensional

The body moves in three dimensions . . . in three planes of motion - - pom poms in the sagittal,
frontal and transverse planes

Understanding respect is three dimensional . . . it is mind, body and spirit

Respect is understanding that everyone’s mind, body and spirit is unique

Sign language: “I respect your mind, body and spirit”

Each child is an athlete and is special

Donald Duck . . . RESPECT

Sign language: “Thank you” in all three planes

Clapping in all three planes

How our body functions is three dimensional . . . it is a neurological, muscular, skeletal system . . .
the neuromusculoskeletal system

The proprioceptors are the spirit of function . . . it is the magic and the uniqueness of the body

In-depth, insight, and transformalized look at the proprioceptors . . . “Who are you and what do
you do?”

Pacinian Corpuscles
• Live in the fibrous layer of the joint capsule
• Live on the capsule synovium border
• Live in all joints . . . greatest distribution is in the distal joints
• Respond to high velocity changes in joint position . . . acceleration and deceleration
• Respond to rapid contractile events of adjacent muscles
• Have very low mechanical threshold and are rapidly adapting (the fastest)

Golgi-Mazzoni Corpuscles
• Live along the inner surface of the joint capsule
• Sensitive to the perpendicular compression of the joint capsule
• Sensitive to stretching of the joint capsule
• Have a low mechanical threshold
Ruffini Endings
• Live in the fibrous layer of the joint capsule in extrinsic ligaments
• Greatest distribution in areas of most compression stress and proximal joint
• Sensitive to the speed and direction of capsular stretch
• Sensitive to amplitude and velocity of joint positional change
• Sensitive to pressure of intercapsular fluid
• Amid arresting or postural discharge “are static and dynamic”
• Enhance reaction to rotational movements
• Not as fast as the Pacinian Corpuscles and their nerve connection velocity

Golgi Ligament Endings

• Live in the intrinsic and extrinsic ligaments of joints
• Most dense at the ligament-bone attachment
• Sensitive to tension or stretch on ligaments
• Monitor the position of body segments
• Full spectrum mechanical threshold . . . low to high mechanical thresholds

Golgi Tendon Organs

• Live near the musculotendonous junction
• Respond to contraction and stretch of the muscle
• Have a relative sensitivity

Muscle Spindles
• Concentrated in the middle of the muscle belly
• Sensitive to the amount and rate of change in the length of muscles
• Provide kinesthetic sensibility by measuring dynamic response, adaptation and linear directionality
• Participate in the regulation of muscular stiffness
• Joint mechanoreceptors project directly onto the muscle spindle system and set the ongoing
threshold of the spindle gamma efferent neurofibers
• Has a sensor and a motor

Proprioceptors will always remain somewhat of a mystery, just as our spirit is definitely there, but
a pure miracle in itself

Chain ReactionTM proprioception

“I respect your mind, body and spirit”

Special thanks to Brad Gray

Anything the body does involves the proprioceptors

We can tweak our analysis, rehabilitation, and our training and conditioning to emphasize
the proprioceptive system

Keeping our eyes and our minds on the “hats”

Challenging the proprioceptors to get to the functional threshold

When we move it is always tri-plane . . . but we can emphasize a certain plane or planes

Gait Evaluation with Gait Tweaks

Leg drivers and arm drivers

• Long stride, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation opposite pelvis)
• Long stride, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation same as pelvis)
• Toe in, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation opposite pelvis)
• Toe out, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation opposite pelvis)
• Toe in, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation same as pelvis)
• Toe out, bilateral arm transverse plane drive (rotation same as pelvis)

Can I get Brad to the threshold of his successes . . . always building upon his successes

• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, sagittal plane drive

• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, sagittal plane drive, with bilateral arm frontal plane
overhead drive

• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, frontal plane drive

• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, frontal plane drive, with bilateral arm overhead posterior
drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, frontal plane drive, with same side arm overhead
posterior drive, and opposite side arm frontal plane drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, frontal plane drive, with bilateral arm rotational drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, frontal plane drive, with same side arm overhead
posterior drive, and opposite arm rotational drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, same side rotational drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, same side rotational drive, with bilateral arm overhead
posterior drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, same side rotational drive, with bilateral arm overhead
posterior drive, with cervical rotation
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, opposite side rotational drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, opposite side rotational drive, with bilateral arm
overhead posterior drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg, opposite side rotational drive, with bilateral arm
overhead posterior drive, with eyes closed

• Unilateral balance, bilateral arm sagittal plane drive

• Unilateral balance, bilateral arm frontal plane drive
• Unilateral balance, bilateral arm transverse plane drive

• Unilateral balance, same side arm frontal plane drive, with opposite side arm sagittal
plane drive
• Unilateral balance, same side arm frontal plane drive, with opposite side arm sagittal
plane drive, with opposite leg posterior drive in sync, with opposite side arm sagittal
plane drive
• Unilateral balance, bilateral arm transverse plane drive
• Unilateral balance, same side arm transverse plane drive, with opposite side arm
frontal plane drive
• Unilateral balance, opposite leg opposite rotational drive, with opposite side arm
sagittal plane drive and same side arm transverse plane drive

The more differentiation patterns, the more integrated movement strategies, the more
successful efficiencies we find, the more function we facilitate
Analysis and Rehabilitation (cont’)

• Unilateral balance knee flexion/excursion

• Unilateral balance knee flexion/excursion, with bilateral arm sagittal plane drive
• Unilateral balance knee flexion/excursion, with bilateral arm frontal plane drive
• Unilateral balance knee flexion/excursion, with bilateral arm transverse plane drive

Let the body show you what is going on

Go right to the subtalar inversion and eversion excursion test

Subtalar inversion and eversion excursion with frontal plane arm drives

Always attacking hip excursion tests

• Unilateral balance with same side hip extended, opposite toe touch anteriorly, bilateral
arm frontal plane drive

The body anticipating patterns . . . gradually tweak out of the patterns

All the things it can be

The Stretch MatrixTM . . . lunges with reaches

• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges
• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges, with bilateral overhead posterior drives
• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges, with bilateral arm same side frontal
plane drive
• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges, with bilateral arm opposite side
frontal plane drive
• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges, with bilateral arm same side transverse
plane drive
• Anterior, lateral, posterior/lateral rotational lunges, with bilateral arm opposite side
transverse plane drive

Forced to begin isolation while in an integrated position and with integrated motions

Function properly challenged, properly tweaked, enhances function

Constantly concentrating on the proprioceptors

Debrief with Bob Wiersma, Executive Director, Functional Rehabilitation Network
- The gift of hanging out with my sons and their great mother
- How do we attack those little critters . . . “I am a hoser”
- A concentrated hose . . . nozzling it down
- The proprioceptors are an integrated mess by design
- Free proprioceptive training with all that we do
- The ridiculousness of training for walking and running while sitting, according to the
proprioceptors
- Engaging the proprioceptors . . . “you better know your Chain ReactionTM biomechanics”
- “Those who don’t hear the music believe the dancer’s mad”
- Proprioceptors immediately give evidence of their abilities
- The phone lines are always in . . . we need to make the proper phone calls
- We want to prove, that same day, our patients and clients are better
- It is the mystical proprioceptors
- To attack the proprioceptors we need to gradually tweak outside their preferred patterns
- Immediate expectations
- Greatest mistake . . . taking our patients and clients beyond their threshold of successes
- Creating too much functional instability
- Over-tweaking not based on biomechanical logic
- Feed in and then add conflict in a progressive and successful manner
- Functional documentation is a documentation of proprioception
- The need for functional outcomes needs to be a result of functional assessment and
functional rehabilitation
- Proprioceptors are designed to enhance pure function
- Proprioceptors get functionally confused when we introduce non-functional conflicts
- Keep our performance focus in front of our process focus
- The performance and process need to match up
- The proprioceptors are truly the spirit of function
- Thanking Bob for his wonderful spirit
Gary Gray’s opportunity to train and condition with Brad to excite some proprioceptors

Shuffle Lunge Matrix

• Anterior/posterior with floor reach
• Right lateral/left lateral with floor reach
• Right rotational/left rotational with floor reach

• Anterior/posterior with overhead posterior reach

• Right/left lateral with overhead posterior reach
• Right rotational/left rotational with overhead posterior reach

• Anterior/posterior with same side rotational reach with cervical rotation

• Right lateral/left lateral with same side rotational reach with cervical rotation
• Right rotational/left rotational with same side rotational reach with cervical rotation

3 Hop Matrix
• Anterior/posterior
• Lateral/medial
• Right rotational/left rotational

• Anterior/posterior with cervical sagittal plane drive

• Lateral/medial with cervical sagittal plane drive
• Right rotational/left rotational with cervical sagittal plane drive

• Anterior/posterior with eyes closed

• Lateral/medial with eyes closed
• Right rotational/left rotational with eyes closed

BOSU Lunge Matrix

• Anterior • Lateral • Rotational

BOSU Toe Touch Lunge Matrix

• Anterior • Lateral • Rotational

BOSU Toe Touch Lunge Matrix with Eyes Closed

• Anterior • Lateral • Rotational

BOSU Step Over Matrix

• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane
BOSU Step-Up Jump Matrix
• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Step-Up Jump Matrix with Cervical Rotation

• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Step Up Jump Matrix with Cervical Rotation with Shoulder to Overhead
Alternate Same Side Lateral Reaches
• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Jump Matrix

• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Jump Matrix with Eyes Looking at Ceiling

• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Jump Matrix with Cervical Rotation with Alternate Punches at Shoulder
Height
• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Jump Matrix Reaction

• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Unilateral Balance with Knee Flexion Excursion with Shoulder to Overhead
3D Reach Matrix
• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

BOSU Unilateral Balance with Arms Overhead with Cervical Rotation with Eyes Closed
• Sagittal plane • Frontal plane • Transverse plane

Making sure you don’t out-tweak yourself

Functional Efficiency

Gary letting Brad know how much he respects his mind, body and especially his spirit
Can you tweak the thing to make the thing better?
Bilateral Dyna Disc Stance with Golf Swing
Cervical Rotation with Golf Swing
Cervical Flexion/Extension with Golf Swing
Cervical Lateral Flexion with Golf Swing

Blindfolded with Golf Swing

Hitting the Moving Golf Ball
• From anterior/left lateral vector
• From posterior/left lateral vector
• From right lateral vector

Tweakology is funology
Developing a new confidence
Transforming through the Chain ReactionTM proprioceptive drill as a
result of understanding function
RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE WITH DR. DAVID TIBERIO
Fitzpatrick P, Carello C, Turvey MT. Eigenvalues of the inertia tensor and
exteroception by the muscle sense. Neuroscience, 1994, 60:551-68.
Turvey MT, Shockley K, Carello C. Affordance, proper function, and the
physical basis of perceived heaviness. Cognition, 1999, 73:B17-B26.
Shockley K, Carello C, Turvey MT. Metamers in the haptic perception of
heaviness and moveableness. Perceptual Psychphysics, 2004, 66:731-42.
• We are always doing proprioceptive training
• Proprioception falls within the litmus test of function
• Haptic proprioception
• Muscle based perception in all three planes
• “How did it know that?”
• Needing to be in the functional position
• Creating a conflict with prism glasses
• Haptic perception and proprioception being at the levels of synergists
• Foot tactile sensors compliment the leg proprioceptors
• The load of a weight, the torque of a weight, relative to the proprioceptors
• Creating too much of a conflict . . . always a fear we have

• Proprioceptively creating the flexibility of the system to get it done right and
efficiently
• Reaching versus reaching for something

• Discussion of a “proprioceptive neuropathy”

• “Proprioceptive Neuropathy” preceding the osteoarthritis

• The phone lines are still in and we have to turn them on

• Chain ReactionTM compensation of proprioceptors

• Bring all of the movement tweaks, the dimension tweaks, and the influence
tweaks
• Getting the “Cheat Tweak Sheet” and then measuring my patients and clients
responses
• This stuff is testable

• Not having full understanding of anything and pretending to have some insight

What a blessing Dave Tiberio is to me