National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) Practice Exam

Which receptors respond to pressure, acceleration, and deceleration of a joint?

1. Muscle spindles

2. Joint receptors

3. Mechanoreceptors

4. Proprioceptors

The correct answer is: Joint receptors

Joint receptors are specialized structures located within the joints that respond to a variety of stimuli related to joint movement and positioning. They are sensitive to changes in pressure, acceleration, and deceleration that occur within a joint, allowing them to provide critical feedback about joint position and movement to the central nervous system. This feedback is essential for maintaining joint stability and coordination during movement. These receptors play a vital role in proprioception, which is the body's ability to sense its position in space. However, while joint receptors are a type of proprioceptor, not all proprioceptors are joint receptors; some are muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs, which respond to different types of stimuli. Mechanoreceptors is a broader term that encompasses various receptors that respond to mechanical pressure or distortion, but the specific receptors that directly respond to the dynamics of joint movement and the conditions stated in the question are the joint receptors. Thus, the specificity of joint receptors in responding to the pressure, acceleration, and deceleration of a joint makes them the correct choice for this question.