Fine motor skills

If the Fine motor skills no longer works, this often happens gradually and is initially not noticed by those affected. Examples of this are when the sewing needle suddenly slips out of your fingers or the small screw can no longer be held. Research into the cause is sometimes difficult, as there are a number of diseases that are responsible for the failure of fine motor skills.

What is fine motor skills?

Fine motor skills develop by the age of three and are developed around the age of 4 ½. It defines, for example, the perfect interaction between hand and fingers and cannot be replaced by anything. If we observe children under the age of about 4 playing a puzzle, we can see that they have difficulty holding the individual pieces in their hands. The older they get, the less trouble they have with this task.

As adults, it goes without saying that we can hold a pen in our hand and write with it. The fine motor skills then work perfectly. If we want to insert a thread into a thin eye of a needle, we moisten our fingers and it almost happens by itself. Functioning fine motor skills can be compared with what is known as "fingertip sensitivity". Even if this is an empty phrase that does not have to be taken literally. Without a good feeling in the fingertips, fine motor skills will not work.

Function & task

Each limb of the hand has its own individual task and cannot be 100% replaced by a transplant. If the fine motor skills fail, difficulties arise, for example, when guiding the soup spoon. This also applies to the use of a knife and fork. Moving the car also becomes a problem. The steering wheel is no longer safe in the hand and as soon as an obstacle appears or a gust of wind grabs the car from the side, the driver no longer determines the direction. There is hardly any professional activity that can be carried out satisfactorily if the fine motor skills have failed.

At a young age, the decline in fine motor skills can be treated with special gymnastics and the use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

In most cases, the diagnosis is that the patient has osteoarthritis. This is a sign of wear and tear on the joints, which is often very painful. Medicines help make the pain bearable, but do not stop the disease. There are good surgeons who specialize in the side effects of deterioration in fine motor skills. However, since no one can predict a satisfactory result when interfering with the hands and fingers, the risk lies solely with the patient.

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Illnesses & ailments

The already weak muscles in the joints decrease with advancing age. People who suffer from the loss of their fine motor skills notice this deficiency every day. They can hardly wring out a rag and even stop pursuing their favorite hobbies. Gardening is hardly possible or only possible with pain. Even peeling potatoes or vegetables is described as very tedious by those affected.

Osteoarthritis in the fingers unfortunately often means that they are disfigured by transverse legs and knots. Both "blemishes" can certainly also be operated on. However, the risk is high. Nobody can guarantee that the fingers will be able to move normally again after the operation and that there will be no impairment. If you don't want to undergo surgery, you can embellish your fingers with jewelry. Several designers have specialized in creating rings in a spiral shape that discreetly cover the knots and over-legs.

There is no question that those who like to do a lot of manual work will suffer from a decline in fine motor skills over the years. Professions such as gardeners, precision mechanics or accountants are almost predestined to suffer from a decline in fine motor skills. Any heavy physical activity inevitably leads to it. In many cases, overloading the spine also plays a role. Slipped discs in the area of ​​the cervical and thoracic spine also lead to a decrease in fine motor skills.