Hand and Eye Coordination

What is Coordination?

Eye-hand coordination is the ability to process visual information to guide hand movements. So then, it allows us to catch a ball, write neatly, or thread a needle. Therefore, our brains use the input from our eyes to help us perform actions with precision, timing, and spatial awareness.

The Role of Vision in Eye and Hand Coordination

Hand and Eye Coordination. Consequently, clear vision is fundamental to effective hand-eye coordination. But any vision impairment can disrupt this system, leading to difficulties in performing everyday tasks. Here, common visual impairments that affect coordination include:

• Uncorrected refractive erros like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), or astigmatism can blur the visual information necessary for fine motor skills.
• Depth perception issues can make it hard to gauge distances, affecting activities like driving, sports, or even simple tasks like pouring liquid into a glass.
• Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) or amblyopia (lazy eye) can result in poor coordination due to the brain receiving mixed visual signals.
• Binocular vision problems, where both eyes do not work together efficiently, can also hinder spatial judgment, affecting tasks like catching a ball.

Why Coor­di­na­tion Gets Worse With Age

Hand and Eye Coordination. Subsequently, in many cas­es, declin­ing hand-eye coor­di­na­tion is just the result of nor­mal ageing. Also, los­ing cells that pro­duce dopamine, the ​“feel good” hor­mone, is com­mon as you age. But unfor­tu­nate­ly, this can slow down your move­ments and make coor­di­na­tion difficult. 

Furthermore, in addi­tion, the eye and vision prob­lems that are com­mon with age may stand in the way of hand-eye coor­di­na­tion. These prob­lems include:

• Glau­co­ma (a group of eye dis­eases where you have vision loss due to dam­age to the nerve at the back of your eye) 
• Cataracts (cloudy areas in your eye­’s nat­ur­al lens that makes it dif­fi­cult to see clearly) 
• Mac­u­lar degen­er­a­tion (a part of your reti­na — the lay­er of cells on the back wall of your eye — is dam­aged and caus­es vision loss) 

There are also lifestyle fac­tors that you have more con­trol over, like diet and exercise. 

How Can You Improve Coordination As You Age?

Hand and Eye Coordination. If you’ve always want­ed to pick up a sport, now is the time. Sports like pick­le­ball, swim­ming, or golf are all rec­om­mend­ed for strength­en­ing hand-eye coordination. However, you may also want to try your hand at tai chi, a low-impact exer­cise that orig­i­nat­ed in Chi­na as a mar­tial art. So then, it com­bines med­i­ta­tion with a series of deep breath­ing and slow, flow­ing move­ments. And shift­ing your weight between pos­es.

Consequently, this improves bal­ance, flex­i­bil­i­ty, strength, reflex­es, and range of motion. Besides, which are all ele­ments of move­ment and hand-eye coor­di­na­tion. As a result, a Euro­pean study found that hand-eye coor­di­na­tion improved by almost 20% by doing tai chi three times a week for three months. Otherwise, stick to more tra­di­tion­al exer­cis­ing, such as brisk walk­ing or tak­ing aer­o­bics class­es for at least 30 min­utes a day for five days a week. 

Reminder

Hand and Eye Coordination. Generally, just remem­ber that you may not be able to play or exer­cise for as long or with the same inten­si­ty as you did in your younger years. As a result, you might need to make some adjust­ments, like trad­ing ten­nis for pick­le­ball or not swim­ming quite as many laps. 

Phys­i­cal Activ­i­ty — Espe­cial­ly Phys­i­cal Ther­a­py — Is Key

 Hand and Eye Coordination. Incidently, one of your best resources for find­ing ways to improve hand-eye coor­di­na­tion is a phys­i­cal ther­a­pist (PT). Here, if you choose phys­i­cal ther­a­py, it’s rec­om­mend­ed to work direct­ly with a phys­i­cal ther­a­pist (PT). Furthermore, so that they can put togeth­er a pro­gram that is tai­lored to your indi­vid­ual needs and that defines your per­son­al goals. Above all, PTs can also teach you the safest and most effec­tive ways to do your exercises. 

However, whether or not you choose to work with a PT, make sure that you’re keep­ing active. By the way, phys­i­cal activ­i­ty isn’t just impor­tant for your phys­i­cal and men­tal health. So then, it’s also a known way to improve coordination. 

An eye-hand workout

Hand and Eye Coordination. Above all, exercise is good for your brain, and the following may be especially helpful for eye-hand coordination.

Racquet sports. In tennis, racquetball, or pickleball, your eyes watch the ball, and your brain instructs your body to meet up with it.

“The speed of the moving ball is challenging. Your brain has to manage that hand and arm not just where you can see it, but also where you can’t see it, as the ball flies by and you reach behind you or to the side. It forces your reaction time to be faster,” says an occupational therapist at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Swimming. In swimming, you often use your arms and hands outside your field of vision, forcing the brain to use its mind’s eye. You visualize in your head what your hands are doing, without watching them. Plus, the sensory input is different in the water, which challenges the brain.”

Tai chi. This ancient martial art uses a series of slow, flowing motions and deep breathing. You gradually shift your weight from one pose to another, which improves your reflexes, balance, strength, flexibility, and range of motion. Tai chi reinforces all of these components of movement.

Noncontact boxing. This is a type of exercise program that involves wearing boxing gloves and shadow boxing or hitting soft pads. It’s especially challenging for your brain as you quickly aim left with your right hand, or aim right with your left hand.

There is a huge benefit in requiring your brain to cross the midline—an imaginary vertical line drawn from the sky down through your nose to your bellybutton and in between in your ankles.

Eye-hand activities

Hand and Eye Coordination. You don’t have to break a sweat to sharpen your eye-hand coordination; lots of fun activities can help. You could

• play a video game.
• play catch with a friend (ball or Frisby)
• bounce a ball against a wall
• play cornhole (a beanbag game)
• take up juggling
• play darts (magnetic darts are a safe choice)
• sew or knit
• paint or draw a picture

Adapting activities

If any of these activities seem too challenging, you may be able to modify them to make them easier.

Hand and Eye Coordination. For example: “If a ball is too small for catch, blow up a balloon and hit it back and forth,””Play pickleball instead of tennis, since the pickleball court is smaller and you don’t have to cover as much ground to hit the ball. Or play Ping-Pong with a pickleball or a light plastic baseball, which may be easier to hit than a Ping-Pong ball.”

If you need assistance, occupational therapists can help you modify activities and create programs tailored to your coordination needs.

Whether you’re training with a therapist or on your own, make your practice more challenging over time; use a smaller ball or try a more difficult activity. “If you can increase the challenge once a month, that’s an impressive feat.”

The big benefit: a carryover into your daily activities, such as driving or grocery shopping. Reduced eye-hand coordination is not something you have to accept, You can start improving it right now.

Video

DONATE

Pensioner Fitness Awards

THE BUSINESS CONCEPT, BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

1. “MOST INSPIRING SENIOR WELLNESS WEBSITE 2023“

THE GLOBAL HEALTH AND PHARMA, FITNESS AND   NUTRITION AWARDS

  2. “BEST SENIOR FITNESS AND NUTRITION SPECIALIST 2023“

THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA BUSINESS AWARDS

3. “ MOST INCLUSIVE FITNESS PROVIDER 2023″

THE CORPORATE LIVE WIRE GLOBAL AWARDS 2023/2024

4. ” FITNESS ADVISORY PLATFORM OF THE YEAR“ 2023/2024

In Conclusion

a

Important Note *

Remember that everyone is different, it is ultimately YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find what your body responds to. So please do your due diligence before trying anything new, including getting Medical Advice to ensure your safety and peace of mind.

Connect with me and leave a comment