A recent study published in Communications Psychology has revealed that our brains often underestimate the movement capabilities of our body parts. Dr. Artur Pilacinski, a neuroscientist at Ruhr University Bochum, and his team conducted an experiment to investigate this phenomenon.
In the study, 84 participants were asked to estimate how far they could move their hand in different directions, including inward and outward movements towards the forearm, and tilting the wrist. The results showed that participants consistently underestimated their movement scope by at least ten degrees for three out of four movements. However, there was no significant disparity between assumed and actual mobility when moving towards the thumb.
The researchers suggest that this bias may serve as a protective mechanism to prevent overstretching and potential harm to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This study has profound implications for neuroscience and physical therapy, suggesting that individuals may benefit from exercises designed to recalibrate their body schema, potentially leading to improved mobility and injury prevention.
The findings also have the potential to inform the development of better prosthetic devices and rehabilitation programs by taking into account the innate bias in body perception. Further research is needed to explore whether this perceptual bias extends to other parts of the body or varies across different populations.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/human-bodies-can-bend-way-more-than-your-brain-lets-you-believe