• Finger exercises increase strength, mobility and dexterity while also increasing fine motor function.fingers walking image by VisualEyez from Fotolia.com
  
  Fine motor functions involve the use of the small muscles of the hand and fingers to manipulate objects and perform hand-eye-coordinated tasks. Many illnesses and disorders, including stroke, injury, nervous disorders and fatigue, can lead to loss or decreased development of fine motor function.
  
  Physicians often refer patients to occupational therapists, who use simple finger exercises to improve motor function and enhance hand-eye coordination.
  
  

Range of Motion

• Self-range-of-motion exercises practiced several times a day will increase strength, mobility and dexterity of the fingers, thus increasing motor skills.
  
  Begin by placing the affected hand palm up on a table or other flat surface. Using the uninjured hand, individually bend and straighten each finger slowly. With the affected hand lying flat on the surface, use the thumb and index finger of the other hand to stretch the finger and thumb apart. Repeat this exercise with each adjacent finger. As motor function increases, practice these exercises using only the muscles of the affected hand.
  
  

Ball Exercises

• Squeezing a small rubber or tennis ball is another way to strengthen the muscles of the fingers. Another ball exercise to increase motor stills involves using the fingers to rotate the ball, first clockwise and then counterclockwise.
  
  As motor skills increase, the patient can begin bouncing and catching the ball. Another motor exercise to increase motor skills includes rolling the ball into a cup or corner, gradually increasing the distance as skill improves.
  
  

Pegboard

• The pegboard involves the use of the hands along with the eyes to coordinate movement as the patient removes pegs from the holes and puts them back in.
  
  As the patient's skill increases, use a timer to allow the patient to chart how long it takes to remove all the pegs and replace them. Have the patient set a goal of trying to beat their best time. As motor function increases, replace the simple pegboard with a board containing pegs of different sizes or shapes.
  
  To further increase motor function, have the patient remove and replace the pegs in a certain order.
  
  

Video Games

• Researchers at the New Jersey Science and Technology University have developed a program using video game therapies to increase motor function. The finger dexterity needed to manipulate the buttons on a video game not only increases finger strength and mobility, but also increases hand-eye coordination, further increasing motor function.
  
  Begin with simple video games developed for small children and then progress to more difficult games as motor function increases.