The effect of proprioceptive facilitation patterning upon reaction, response, and movement times

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of proprioceptive facilitation upon reaction time, movement time, and response time. Reaction time, response time-one (flexion at shoulder, extension at elbow); response time-two (flexion, adduction, external rotation at shoulder, elbow flexion), and movement time (response time-two minus reaction time), were measured before and following a training session. Fifteen women and 27 men were randomly assigned to one of the following training groups; weight training, target throwing, and proprioceptive facilitation patterning. Subjects engaged in three training sessions a week for six weeks. Analysis revealed a significant improvement for the proprioceptive facilitation patterning group in response time-two and movement time.