What are gross and fine motor skills?

Motor skills are the skills that are acquired as part of the motor development of the individual and that require the voluntary control and coordination one or more muscle groups. The brain, the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system participate in these movements in a coordinated way.

At birth, the baby's nervous system is still immature. As he grows he develops motor skills that he perfects and does more and more precisely. The set of motor skills can be separated into two large groups, gross motor skills and fine motor skills:

  1. gross motor skills: these are skills that involve relatively large muscles or parts of the musculoskeletal system, such as the legs, arms or trunk. For example, standing up, sitting down and getting up, walking, running or jumping.
  2. fine motor skills: These are skills performed with very precise movements of small muscles, such as the muscles of the fingers, lips or eyes. For example, picking up a glass or painting requires small muscle coordination of the fingers, hand, and eyes.

Sometimes a third group is distinguished, the average motor skillsto refer to movements of large muscles no body movement. For example, raising your arms or staying seated.

Developing

Gross motor skills begin to develop earlier than fine motor skills. Although it can vary quite a bit, by around two years of age a baby can stand, walk, run or climb stairs, all of which are considered gross motor skills.

It is common for the development of gross skills to follow an order from head to toe. Babies first learn to support their neck and head, then their trunk and arms, and then to get up, stand and walk.

The neurological pathways that control the balanced coordination of the two legs for the bipedal displacement seem to be present even before being bornalthough babies do not usually learn to walk until about 1 year of age.

In late childhood and early puberty there is a considerable increase in walking speed. Gross motor skills continue to develop throughout childhood and are refined at all stages of life into adulthood. The maximum performance in gross motor skills is usually given before 30.

For its part, fine motor skills begin to develop a little later than gross skills, although during most of life they are developed and perfected at the same time. They engage in actions that require smaller, more precise movements of the lips, hands, feet, and fingers, often in coordination with the eyes, such as holding a spoon, writing, or painting.

As with gross motor skills, fine motor skills begin to develop in head-to-toe order. The first fine skills babies control are movements of their face, lips, and tongue. He continues to develop basic fine skills with his hands, such as grasping, and finally with his feet.

Basic fine motor skills are reached dominate throughout childhood and continue to develop throughout puberty and adult life heavily influenced by practice and increased use of certain muscle groups, for example, playing a musical instrument. In this context, fine motor skills are often referred to as abilities.

Problems with the development of motor skills, both gross and fine, are usually treated from the physiotherapythe occupational therapy and, where appropriate, neurology.

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