Mapping the gap between lab and life: A scoping review of proprioceptive assessment technologies (2016-2025) using the Ecological Validity and Technological Maturity Indices

Proprioception is fundamental to motor control, athletic performance, and rehabilitation. Over the past decade, proprioceptive assessment has undergone substantial methodological developments. However, whether recent innovations have improved both measurement precision and ecological validity remains unclear. This scoping review examined methodological developments in proprioceptive assessment from 2016 to 2025 across 3 core paradigms: joint position reproduction, threshold to detection of passive motion, and active movement extent discrimination assessment.

Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were systematically searched for peer-reviewed studies introducing novel proprioceptive assessment methods published between 2016 and 2025. Fifty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. To support structured comparison, we developed 2 novel metrics: the Ecological Validity Index (7-point scale) and the Technological Maturity Index (4-point scale). Studies were analyzed according to technological modality, task design, and psychometric properties and then were scored on both indices. Measurement capability and reproducibility were evaluated indirectly through reported technical specifications and reliability metrics.

The 56 included studies revealed 2 methodological orientations: technology-driven approaches (n = 42) and task-driven approaches (n = 14). Joint position reproduction was the most frequently represented paradigm (n = 41), followed by active movement extent discrimination assessment (n = 12) and threshold to detection of passive motion (n = 5). Moderate ecological validity was most common (n = 29), followed by low (n = 21) and high ecological validity (n = 6). Technological maturity was predominantly moderate (n = 52), and no study simultaneously achieved both high ecological validity and high technological maturity. At the paradigm level, active movement extent discrimination assessment showed the highest mean ecological validity score. At the technology level, physical apparatuses and props showed the highest ecological validity, whereas portable digital devices showed the highest technological maturity. Psychometric reporting varied substantially, and absolute reliability metrics were underreported.

Contemporary proprioceptive assessment methods have developed along 2 major pathways: technology-driven and task-driven approaches. Although recent innovations have improved measurement capability, ecological validity remains insufficiently addressed, and a gap persists between laboratory-based precision and functionally relevant assessment. Future progress will depend on better integrating these 2 pathways to support more ecologically relevant, technically mature, and clinically useful proprioceptive assessment systems.