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Variability in cross-modal proprioceptive judgements impair upper limb function across the lifespan
Lucy S Robertson1,2,3, Joanna Diong3,4, Annie A Butler3,5,6
1Discipline of Physiotherapy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|July 18, 2026
Summary
Poor high-level proprioception, the sense of body position, significantly impacts upper-limb function, especially in older adults. This age-related decline highlights proprioception as a key target for interventions to maintain arm function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Age-related decline in upper-limb function is a significant concern.
- Proprioceptive deficits are hypothesized to contribute to this functional decline.
- Understanding the specific role of proprioception across the lifespan is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the causal effect of proprioceptive ability on upper-limb function.
- To investigate whether this effect is modulated by age.
- To identify specific aspects of proprioception (low-level vs. high-level) relevant to functional performance.
Main Methods:
- Developed a causal graph to model relationships between proprioception, upper-limb function, and covariates.
- Assessed 184 healthy adults (18-95 years) using grasp-based measures of low-level and high-level proprioception.
- Employed generalized linear models to estimate causal effects under the specified framework.
Main Results:
- Poor high-level proprioception precision was associated with impaired performance on a shirt-buttoning task.
- The negative impact of poor high-level proprioception precision on functional task performance increased with age.
- No significant effect of low-level proprioception on functional performance was observed.
Conclusions:
- High-level proprioception precision plays a critical role in age-related upper-limb functional decline.
- Proprioception, particularly high-level precision, emerges as a potential therapeutic target to preserve arm function in aging.
- The study provides normative data on proprioception and function across the adult lifespan.
