Hands on

Hands on

As we age, our hands bear a record of the life we have lived and are living. My father’s hands were always a mess of minor injuries, bruised nails and calluses. He worked physically hard on the land, which showed in his hands. He was skilled in many manual tasks, and had great hand-eye coordination, never once dropping the hammer his children threw at or to him. Though this line often blurred, it was always in good fun.

Now in retirement, my father’s abilities have been curtailed by severe osteoarthritis. The firm grasp in a handshake is gone as pain replaces familiarity. Writing a letter is a two or three-day epic with breaks that allow for mental drive to overcome the pain of performing fine motor skills.

Humans develop movement skills in the most adverse situation. We are not required to move -“ we will be fed regardless. We don’t have to catch prey or locate additional food sources -“ that’s what parents do. Yet by the time we are 18 we need a signature for our licence. So we begin with minute movements: blinking, facial expressions, poking things in our mouths (for some that never changes), rolling, crawling and walking. Only then, at age two or three, do the tough ones come along.

We are expected to feed ourselves using tiny little things called cutlery, where the smallest mishap is a sharp gouge in the eye or nose. By the time we get to school we are supposed to be able to tie shoelaces, where our fingers seem always to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, play with balls, write, draw and paint.

Hand-eye coordination can be improved through careful physical education. Key points are that gross movements (of the whole limb) should precede those of fine motor movements, and that the experience is positive and enjoyable. Skills learned young are best retained in adult life where they are learned to mastery or a very high level of competency.

Where this occurs, movement patterns are retained in chemical rather than electrical format, and nervous function becomes highly specialised to most efficiently perform particular skills. As we age, the ability to perform movement skills is reduced to those we continue to use and perform regularly. Further, people who perform regular sporting and movement skills not necessary for their daily lives are better able to learn new skills as adults.

Develop your hand-eye coordination and improve your level of alertness and physical fitness by joining one of Team Sydney’s Member Sports Teams. You are always welcome in gay and lesbian sport: www.teamsydney.org.au.

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