Introduction: Proprioception includes joint position sense, joint motion sense, sense of force in movement, and sense of change in velocity, when the body is deprived of visual feedback. We most often evaluate the feeling for the position of the joint and the feeling for the movement of the joint or kinaesthesia. The goal of proprioceptive exercises is to increase cognitive awareness of joints in regard to their position and movement and to improve muscle stabilization in the absence of structural joint limitations. Due to the high mobility of the shoulder joint, good proprioceptive control is one of the leading defence mechanisms to prevent shoulder joint injuries. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma thesis, based on a review of scientific and professional literature, was to determine the effects of proprioceptive training for the upper limb in regard to sensing the position and movement of the shoulder joint. Methods: We reviewed PubMed and ScienceDirect databases with a combination of the key words and phrases in the English language: proprioception; proprioceptive training; sense of joint position; shoulder; glenohumeral joint. Results: Five studies were included in the literature overview. They all investigated the influence of proprioceptive training for the upper limb on the perception of position and movement in the shoulder joint. Two studies included only healthy subjects while the other three included subjects with various pathologies of the shoulder joint. In four of the five studies, the researchers found statistically significant improvement in proprioception of shoulder joint in the experimental groups that performed proprioceptive training for the upper limb from four to eight weeks. Discussion and conclusion: Research shows that proprioceptive training for the upper limb could be included in treatment programmes after shoulder joint injuries as well as in preventive programmes to improve shoulder joint proprioception in healthy individuals. In the future it would be essential to perform more studies, especially on larger samples of subjects that would represent individuals with the same pathologies of the shoulder joint.
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