The area of the spine at the neck region has a delicate system (cervical proprioceptive system) which plays a crucial role in posture and balance. Since neck pain is common but its cause and treatment are hard to narrow down, we have found at Hands of Hope NYC that one of the main problems is the impairment of cervical proprioception and we have sensorimotor tests that we can carry out to evaluate patients with chronic neck pain.

Sensorimotor skills are those we use to take in information about the world through our senses and to develop our body’s movement, or motor, response to that information (if we need to jump out of the way of a speeding bicycle that we see headed our way, for instance). The latest research suggests that exercises such as the Cervical Joint Position which uses accurate laser tracking is very effective in retraining muscle coordination and improving cervical proprioception i.e. helping improve balance and posture.