Exercises and Activities to Improve and Maintain Fine Motor Skills

Do you get frustrated when you attempt to put on your favorite necklace, count pills, tie your shoes, manipulate coins or put the cap on the toothpaste tube?

Hand function and fine motor skills begin to decline due to normal aging, arthritis and neurological diseases.

Try some of these Occupational Therapy exercises to improve your dexterity at home. Don’t forget alternate hands for an extra challenge.

Manipulate coins: pick several in your hand one at a time and put them in a bank or small jar, one at a time.
Make a chain of paper clips.
Stack small blocks.
Practice writing your favorite poem, quote and name/signature.
Flip playing cards. Shuffle.
Flip pages in a book or magazine.
Complete jigsaw puzzles.
Manipulate pieces to board games; i.e. MasterMind, Perfection, Monopoly, _{Chinese Checkers, Connect Four}
Knit, Crochet, Sew.
Play computer/video games.
Fasten buttons on a shirt (can be on lap). Repeat several times.
Tie laces (can be on lap). Repeat several times.
Keep fingers extended and flat on a table. Open and close fingers while gathering a _{tissue or towel in between fingers.}
Rip paper into pieces and crumple into small balls with fingertips.
Manipulate nuts and bolts.
Fill basin with raw rice and place objects in rice. Remove objects.
Crumple and flatten a piece of paper, paper towel, tissue.
Manipulate marbles
Stack checkers
Fold paper

Author

Rita Levey, OTR/L Rita Levey OTR/L graduated from New York University with a Masters of Arts in Occupational Therapy. Since then, she has received several awards for her leadership and service and loves to participate in postgraduate work. Rita has over 25 years of experience and is now the director of our In-Home Occupational Therapy Program! Rita has extensive experience that ranges working with patients who’ve had injuries to their hand, spinal cord, brain, neurologic dysfunction, stroke recovery, MS, Parkinson’s, and the severely disabled.

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