What Simone Biles Can Teach Us

O.K. New word for you: Proprioception. No - please don’t decide you don’t want to know what it means because it could make all the difference to your quality of life as you get older. And, if like me you have been marvelling at the amazing skill of the Olympic gymnasts, synchronised divers and BMX riders, you’ll have been wondering how on earth they keep track of where their bodies are as they twist, turn and fly through space. The answer is their very highly developed proprioception, a simple definition of which would be: “our physical sense of where we are in space.”

So I am going to explain why proprioception is so important, especially when it comes to balance and falls, and what you can do to maintain and even improve it into older age.

When I first read all about proprioception in relation to ageing, I already knew how important it is because of my special granddaughter, India.who was born with a rare chromosomal abnormality which affects both her physical and mental development. In the first years of her life we had no idea whether she’d be able to walk or do simple everyday things like climb up stairs or get down from the sofa. In order to do those quite complex physical tasks we were told that we needed to help her to develop her proprioception so that she could work out where to place her feet, hands and the rest of her body in order to move around from one place to another. 

So, Suzy, her mum, and I decided to teach her how to climb the stairs in their house on all fours. Suzy went to the top and I stayed behind India (who was about 3 years old) in order to catch her if she fell. Very slowly India worked out that she needed to alternate her hands and feet on each successive step in order to go up (or to safely come down backwards). With masses of encouragement and cheering from us both, and a few heart-stopping moments when she slipped, India slowly inched her way forwards and up. When she eventually got to the top she sat on the step and turned round with a big, beaming triumphant smile and clapped her own achievement.

Let’s test your proprioception now. 

Stand on one leg, with your arms outstretched at the sides level with your shoulders. Imagine you are holding a rock in one hand. Next, the tricky bit: ‘pass’ the rock overhead to your other hand without putting your leg down, then pass it back. Try to do the whole movement both back and forth 10 times without losing your balance. 

Don’t worry if you can’t do it, it just means that your proprioception is in need of development. This ‘rock-pass’ drill is one of the simplest ways to check your body’s sense of where it is in space. Sometimes it's referred to as a sixth sense and has been very much in evidence at the Olympics whenever one of the athletes is able to orient themselves in the air when doing a complicated manoeuvre. But it’s also what lets us touch our nose with our eyes closed, push a door open without shoving it too hard, or adjust our gait to avoid a tree root when out for a walk or run.

Proprioceptors are receptors mainly located in the muscles, tendons and joints, which work with our body’s other sensory systems to deliver us information on our movements and environment. This allows you to work out the position of your limbs and also to gauge the weight of objects you are picking up or pushing against (like a door) and also to pick up any changes in the surface that you are walking on. Some people are better at this than others, but it can also depend on what you are doing. It is possible to be rock solid in a yoga pose but have below-average hand-eye coordination, or vice versa. It’s also something affected by health issues including stroke, neurological disorders (hence India’s challenges), or even diabetes.

Proprioception also worsens with age which can lead to an increased risk of falls and reduced coordination. Things like typing or playing cards require fine motor skills and coordinated movements, so if you are struggling with these then proprioceptive decline may be partly to blame. The good news is that proprioception can be improved, or at the very least maintained, if it’s worked on, with results that can be the difference between falling and breaking a bone or just shaking yourself up a little. 

So how can you improve or maintain it? The simplest option is to add more movements to your everyday life that challenge your balance, hand-eye coordination or sense of movement, or simply embrace the opportunity as it arises. Standing on one leg whilst brushing your teeth or when speaking on the phone is one way, but using movements that include reaching, bending or twisting are important too. Try doing simple movements like getting dressed or putting on your shoes with your eyes closed which will force your body to rely on internal signals rather than on visual cues. This will strengthen the neural pathways you need to maintain good levels of proprioception.

If, like me, you exercise in a more formal way then using bodyweight exercises or weights like kettlebells and dumbbells can be better than using the machines at the gym. Exercises like planks or leg lifts emphasise core strength which helps with posture as well as proprioception. A strong core will make all the difference if you trip because your body will be strong enough to right itself. Jump squats and jumping from one foot to the other strengthens how quickly muscles react to positional changes. Pilates, Tai Chi and Yoga are all good ways to use slow, purposeful movements to build a sense of where your body is in space.

Try these simple ways to check and improve your proprioception:

Heel-toe walking

Like tightrope walking but with zero risk! Find a straight line on the group or mark one out with tape and walk along heel to toe. Try not to wobble or step off the mark.

Wall bounces

Good for hand-eye coordination. Grab a tennis ball or similar and throw it at the wall (outside) with one hand and catch with the other hand as it bounces.

Ball pickups

Using the same ball, put it down either in front or behind you, then pick it up again with the other hand. Repeat, trying to get more creative with the ways you lower yourself to the ground (think squats, lunges and splits) or the spots where you place the ball.

Jumping turns - warning - don’t attempt if you aren’t confident about coordination or knee health

Bend your knees slightly and then jump, aiming to do a quarter, half or even 360 degree turn in the air. Land as softly as you can.

India is twelve years old now and she can very easily walk up and down the stairs unaided. She has to wear plastic splints on her legs every day to encourage her to stop walking on tiptoe, but most of the time she manages her challenges around proprioception extremely well. What she has clearly developed is that vital sixth sense which means that she is both present in her body and more aware of her movements and surroundings, so that she has gradually become much less clumsy and less liable to fall over.  

Over the past fortnight of the Paris Olympic Games I have been in awe of the wonderful range of bodies on display and the phenomenal skill of the athletes in the ways that they are able to use those bodies to compete at the highest level. But perhaps my favourite of all has been Simone Biles because this tiny 27 year old woman is outstanding in terms of her skill, artistry and gymnastic virtuosity, hence the three gold medals she has been awarded in these Games.

I have been loving the Olympics, although it’s quite a stretch thinking of my own body in relation to all those super-fit, powerful and mostly very youthful bodies, but Simone Biles teaches us that the key to flying through the air whilst twisting, twizzling and turning in space is a strong core combined with a very well developed proprioception. 

I am very unlikely ever to be able to fly through the air, probably because I’d be terrified, but I would like to be able to twist, turn and propel my body along every day without falling over, so in future, I intend to channel my inner Simone Biles by developing and maintaining my proprioception.

Tricia x

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