Motor control

Motor control refers to the coordination role that our central nervous system carries out in governing muscles while executing a specific movement or combined actions.

It can be definined as the process of initiating, controlling, and grading voluntary movements, including the ability to anticipate, adjust and respond to changes from the planned movement; this happens, for instance, through an alternation of contraction and relaxation of muscle groups. So, integrated movements are under the complete control of programming mechanisms of the brain. Changes in motor function can happen over time, especially due to pain, injuries and/or diseases. Targeted exercises, prescribed by physical therapists, can help in the process of recovering and/or improving our central nervous system ability to coordinate movements through repeated practice or experience of a certain skill, resulting in changes in the central nervous system that result in new motor skills. These exercises often involves slow motor tasks improving the accuracy of single movements, to then combined multiple movements at an higher execution speed.