FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Fine motor skills are critical for so many things we do.  Functional fine motor skills involve not only the small muscles in the hands, but the wrists, shoulders, and postural muscles. 

The postural muscles (muscles in our trunk) allow for a strong core and thus the foundation of stability for any upper body activity. 

Our shoulders also provide stability and control when using our hands.  Strong shoulders help with fine motor endurance and help us know how much pressure to use when doing fine motor activities.  The wrists allow our fingers to move independently and with precision control.

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Also important is bimanual control. This is the ability to use both hands together, such as needed for cutting or beading tasks. 

Finally, there’s the actual small muscles in the hands.  They need to be strong in order for us to do things like hold a pencil properly or button buttons.  There are 2 sides of each hand.  The thumb, index, and middle fingers form one side of the hand, and perform tasks such as holding a pencil to write. The pinkie and ring fingers form the other side of the hand and this side is often used as a point of stability within the hand.