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.
