Proprioception of the knee joint. Paradoxical effect of training

Two tests frequently used to measure joint proprioception were performed on the knees of twelve members of a professional ballet company to determine the effect of extensive athletic training on this sensation. These tests measured the threshold of perception of joint motion and the ability of a subject to reproduce a joint position. A healthy, active age-matched control group was also tested. Results show that dancers performed significantly better on the threshold test (p < 0.05) and significantly worse when reproducing a joint position (p < 0.05) than the control group. The strong implication is that athletic training can affect joint proprioception and that these two tests are in fact, dependent on different neural mechanisms.