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Occupational Therapy Exercises for Fine Motor Control

Neurological damage, such as that caused by a stroke or head injury, can rob you of fine motor function. Fine motor skills are small, precise, coordinated movements, usually like those involving the hands and fingers. Fine motor skills require the brain, muscles and skeleton to work together to function. The development of these skills usually occurs in early childhood, and often seemingly effortlessly. The repetition of actions, such as writing, feeding oneself and personal grooming, fine-tune this partnership between the brain, muscles and skeleton. The disconnect between these elements that can cause loss or lack of development of fine motor control can be caused by various conditions, including autism, stroke, head injury or any other condition that affects any one of these elements.

  1. Vertical Exercises

    • Fine motor control is best developed when the patient is working on a vertical surface. Attaching a piece of paper to a wall is the simplest way to create this situation. The patient should stand in front of the paper and draw or trace existing figures, working from left to right and top to bottom. The important thing is for the wrist to be in extension, which means that the hand is bent backward toward the arm. A felt board with felt shapes, a chalkboard or an easel can also provide this vertical exercise.

    Hand Strengthening

    • Sometimes the lack of fine motor control is related to insufficient muscle development. Muscles that aren't used to being used will fatigue quickly and be less adept at performing the desired task. Simple exercises that strengthen the hands and fingers can help alleviate this problem. Squeezing a ball is one way to work these muscles. Another way to target individual fingers is by looping a rubber band around one finger and holding it with the other hand, creating resistance that the targeted finger must overcome. Pushing the hand and fingers against a mattress is another form of resistance exercise. Even opening and closing the fingers and practicing making a tight fist can help improve the function of these muscles.

    Coordination Exercises

    • A great deal of successful fine motor control is eye-hand coordination. Once the hands learn how to work, they must learn to follow the directions put together by your brain's reception of visual and sensory cues. One exercise to improve coordination is using a pegboard. The principle of the pegboard is that the patient takes pegs out of holes and puts them back in. This requires the eyes and hands to work together. As the patient gets better at accomplishing this task, the addition of a timed element can provide incentive to polish these skills. The patient's goal is to beat their own best time at putting the pegs in the holes. For many people, especially adults, the most effective exercises are practical ones. Patients want to see how doing these exercises relates to their lives. Practicing eating with silverware, combing hair and brushing teeth can help condition the fine motor skills.

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