What are Fine Motor Skills?

Fine motor skills refer to the small movements made with the hands, wrists, fingers, feet, toes, lips, and tongue.

DEFINITION – What are Fine Motor Skills?

Motor skills are physical actions we perform with minimal or no thought. Of the two types of motor skills, fine motor skills are those skills which can be performed with small movements. Some fine motor skills activities include picking up objects such as cutlery, drawing or painting with a pencil or brush, and fastening buttons on a shirt or jacket.

BREAKING DOWN – Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are developed at a very young age, but not before gross motor skills. This is due to the fact that fine motor skills require hand-eye coordination and precision which babies typically don’t develop before they can stand or crawl. Babies will be able to wave their arms around before they can manipulate a toy in their hands.

Humans need to make use of both gross and fine motor skills to function, and in some ways they can be seen as the macro and micro elements of movement. 

With regards to work, both skill sets are required, but some focus more on fine motor skills and others on gross motor skills. For example, typing requires the worker to move their fingers across a keyboard rapidly, which is an example of a fine motor skill. However, professional athletes rely on the big movements – or gross motor skills – of their body to compete.

However, it is often true that a lot of activities require a good balance of both for optimal performance. To take skiing as an example, the athlete must be able to not only control the poles in their hands, but also change direction with their body and sometimes make jumps.

At Athlete’s Choice Massage, we have a team of fully licensed massage therapists on hand to help you tune up your fine motor skills through restorative massage. Book your appointment online today.

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About Athlete’s Choice Massage

Athlete’s Choice Massage was created to provide consistently excellent rehabilitative services for health-conscious people. Our team is extremely well-trained and they take pride in their work. They are constantly striving to learn and better themselves in their respective fields so that they can help you recover and aid in the maintenance of your well-being.

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All appointments will begin with a short but in-depth one-on-one assessment. This is your opportunity to point out what area you’d like to work on during your time, as well as identify any special requests or concerns you may have. Should you have more than one area of concern, your therapist will prioritize the chief complaint and create a treatment plan for the time allotted and for follow-ups as needed.

Please note our 24 Hour Cancelation Policy.

With massage therapy being covered by many people’s extended health care benefits, it is now easier than ever to experience the positive effects of therapeutic massage.

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When a massage is administered, your body reacts to the pressure and movement of the massage therapist’s hands in a variety of ways. As your body relaxes, the massage prompts the release of hormones and Read More

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Fine motor skills are the small, precise movements made by the muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrists, which allow us to perform tasks such as writing, using utensils, and buttoning clothes.

Fine motor skills typically begin to develop in infants as they grasp and manipulate objects. They continue to develop throughout childhood and into adolescence.

Fine motor skills can be improved through activities that require the use of the hands and fingers, such as playing with small toys, drawing, coloring, and using scissors.

Signs of poor fine motor skills in children may include difficulty with writing, coloring, using utensils, and performing other fine motor tasks. They may also struggle with hand-eye coordination and have trouble with activities that require small, precise movements.