Hand-Eye Coordination: Definition, Benefits, and Treatment

The hand-eye coordination definition is the ability to simultaneously control our hand movements in response to what our eyes see. The hand-eye coordination benefits are the capability of performing everyday tasks such as throwing a ball or object, grasping objects, driving, cooking food or picking up objects. The nature of hand-eye coordination is cognitive and logical due to the required use of both our motor and visual skills. Therefore, hand-eye coordination is important in the majority of the daily tasks people need to do. As you age, the ability to coordinate your hands according to visual information can become more difficult due to a number of reasons, including declining vision, speed, and reflexes according to Harvard University. Hand-eye coordination treatment or activities to improve hand-eye coordination abilities can include sports such as tennis, basketball, football, table tennis, volleyball, baseball, golf, boxing and more.

What is Hand-Eye Coordination?

Hand-eye coordination is described as using our hands and vision at the same time to perform tasks such as grabbing and picking up objects, catching a ball or pushing and pulling activities. Hand-eye coordination is essential for the normal and healthy development of children and their academic progression. For adults, it is still important, as many tasks require hand-eye coordination. It is worth noting that hand-eye coordination can be poor despite having clear and functioning vision. It may also be the case of having poor hand-eye coordination only when required to perform tasks or activities that involve using your motor skills and vision simultaneously.

How Does Hand-Eye Coordination Work?

Hand-eye coordination works through a system of related processes that control the synchronisation of visual and manual motor systems according to the National Library of Medicine. The ability to grab or hold on to an object requires accuracy and timing based on obtaining visual information about the environment and the simultaneous movement of the hands and eyes. Some parietal and frontal structures and several regions in the brainstem and cerebellum are responsible for eye movement and correlate with the head.

What Are the Benefits of Having Good Hand-Eye Coordination?

The benefits of having good hand-eye coordination are better child development, increased productivity, and improved reaction times. For children, good hand-eye coordination is beneficial as it aids with sports and activity participation, handwriting and grasping objects. Having adequate hand-eye coordination was found to have benefits, especially for children in their standard academic skills. When compared to their peers who measured less dextrous, children who exhibited adequate hand-eye coordination had higher scores. According to the Association for Psychological Science, research indicated that there was a principal relationship between the ability of children to interact with their environment and their cognitive development. Good hand-eye coordination may increase productivity as it can help with performing essential tasks such as typing and handwriting. Reaction times may be enhanced through good hand-eye coordination by helping you to avoid any hazards or dangers around you such as avoiding a vehicle.

Image of a toddler playing with a bead maze

What is the Importance of Hand-Eye Coordination?

The importance of hand-eye coordination is the enablement of daily tasks and a variety of physical activities. In sports activities coordination, balance and a fast reaction time are required according to a 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine. This highlighted the connection between hand-eye coordination, proprioceptive control and visual control. Proprioceptive control is imperative for daily life activities, better sports performance and medical disorders. Proprioceptive control or also known as kinesthesia is what enables our bodies to perceive location, action and movement. With hand-eye coordination, we are able to complete simple but essential tasks such as eating, physical activity, doing our hair, writing and driving.

What are the Best Sports to Improve Hand-Eye Coordination?

The best sports to improve hand-eye coordination are swimming, sports that involve balls such as basketball and tennis, non-contact boxing and tai chi according to Harvard Health Publishing. Swimming may be helpful for improving hand-eye coordination as it involves moving all parts of the body while relying on your visual fields, forcing the brain to picture what your hands need to do. Swimming may also improve the connection between mind and body through fast and repetitive movements. Sports that involve balls may be helpful as it requires watching the ball and your brain to guide your body to respond accordingly. Non Contact boxing calls for quick and accurate hand movements as well as applying an appropriate amount of force in response to a moving target in front of you. Tai Chi demands balance, flexibility, strength and shifting body weight when changing poses, which can improve these elements after continuous practice.

What Factors Can Affect Hand-Eye Coordination?

The factors that can affect hand-eye coordination may be ageing or issues with motor and visual systems. Hand-eye coordination may be affected by ageing due to several declining functions such as manual dexterity, writing speed, steadiness in the non-dominant hand, accuracy in aiming and moving and reaction times according to Jinhua Guan and Michael G. Wade in their paper, The Effect of Aging on Adaptive-Hand Coordination. The decline of visual acuity from middle age to senior age can also affect the full function of hand-eye coordination according to the National Library of Medicine. Other visual system problems that may affect hand-eye coordination can include amblyopia and strabismus. Amblyopia (lazy eye) is a condition caused by abnormal development of vision from a young age. Amblyopia can affect binocular vision which is essential for good hand-eye coordination according to the National Health Library of Medicine. Binocular vision is defined as using vision from both eyes to see efficiently. Strabismus (misaligned eyes) occurs when one eye is positioned in a direction that differs from the other eye. Strabismus may affect hand-eye coordination similarly to amblyopia as it affects binocular vision according to the National Institutes of Health.

Does Growing Old Affect Hand-Eye Coordination?

Yes, growing old may affect hand-eye coordination as there are several key functions that may be more susceptible to decline with old age. As you get older, the ability to reach and move accurately as well as dexterity and reaction time can reduce. This can commonly occur as many regions of the brain can experience a lack of function. Neuromuscular communication may not be as optimal as it was in our younger years which can impede hand-eye coordination. According to Better Health, the neuromuscular system consists of all our muscles and nerves that are responsible for the movement and control of our body.

How is Hand-Eye Coordination Related to Other Skills?

Hand-eye coordination is related to other skills such as fine motor skills and gross skills. Fine motor skills are defined as the ability to move the small muscles in our hands and wrists. The small muscles help children cut with scissors or colour with pens, for adults, it helps with tasks such as buttoning a shirt, housework and cooking. Gross motor skills are characterised as the coordination of larger muscles in our legs, arms and torso. The larger muscles are what help us to perform activities such as running, walking, sitting and standing. Gross motor skills are also what assist us to maintain our posture by providing upper body support.

Image of a toddler playing with a puzzle

How Can Hand-Eye Coordination Impact Daily Activities?

Hand-eye coordination can impact daily activities by helping you to carry them out. Visual information is sent to our brains when we start performing tasks. The process of what we see and moving accordingly takes place. In the case of driving, hand-eye coordination is essential as we are taking in a lot of visual information. We need to respond by using our hands on the steering wheel to maintain the car’s position within the lane, avoid hazards on the road and monitor our surroundings. Hand-eye coordination functions as the core of conducting daily activities.

Do Neurological Problems Affect Hand-Eye Coordination?

Yes, neurological problems may affect hand-eye coordination, and they can include cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, optic ataxia and decreased muscle tone according to North Shore Pediatric Therapy. Children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy can have hand-eye coordination deficiencies, affecting their fine motor skills and manual actions according to the National Library of Medicine. Spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy occurs when the motor cortex is damaged. The motor cortex is located in the brain and is responsible for movement. According to the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibited poorer hand-eye coordination. Optic ataxia is a neurological disorder wherein patients are not capable of accurately reaching or pointing to objects until they have physical contact with it according to the American Optometric Association. Decreased muscle tone or also referred to as hypotonia is when the muscles lack resistance when their joints move. Patients with this condition may describe their muscles as floppy. Symptoms can include trouble with mobility and posture as well as poor reflexes, breathing, speech difficulties, ligament and joint laxity.

How does Visual Attention Affect Hand-Eye Coordination?

Visual attention affects hand-eye coordination as it is a key pathway to conducting everyday activities and tasks such as using machines and tools. Visual attention is defined as the cognitive functions that help us process the right amount of information from the plethora of visual information we come across every day. The capacity of our processing capability of visual information is limited, therefore visual attention is how we can select more important information according to the National Library of Medicine.

Can Hand-Eye Coordination be Trained or Developed?

Yes, hand-eye coordination can be trained and developed as you can do activities such as sports and certain exercises to help improve declining coordination functions. Accuracy, reflexes and reaction time can decline as you age. Continuing activities that can sharpen these components regularly as an adult may be helpful for maintaining good hand-eye coordination as well as physical agility.

What is the Treatment For Poor Hand-Eye Coordination?

The treatments for poor hand-eye coordination may include swimming, Tai Chi and other sports and activities. The treatments for poor hand-eye coordination are listed below.

Swimming: Swimming may help improve poor hand-eye coordination as it utilises the movement of the whole body out of visual field range. Swimming can be described as using a combination of leg and arm movements and physical strength to propel through water. The repetitive movements of swimming may also be helpful for enhancing balance and body stability as well as the connection between the brain and the body
Tai Chi: Tai Chi’s use of weight shifting between poses and practice of core strength and balance may be beneficial for poor hand-eye coordination. Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese martial art that is conducted for physical and mental health and self-defence. It typically involves performing slow and soft movements while shifting your body weight for each different pose which may improve balance and accuracy in finger-pointing according to the National Library of Medicine.
Sports: Sports may be helpful for poor hand-eye coordination as they involve repeated movements that can help the brain to anticipate and react in a timely manner. According to Harvard Health Publishing, engaging in sports often involves quickly reacting to your surroundings, monitoring the ball or other participators and moving your arms and body accordingly.
Activities: Activities such as juggling, video games and sewing may assist hand-eye coordination through the use of repeated hand motions, quick reaction times and eye focusing. These types of activities may be beneficial for hand-eye coordination as they all involve a constant focus of the eyes and moving your hands and fingers in response to what you see.

How to Improve Hand-Eye Coordination?

To improve hand-eye coordination, you can try engaging in sports and certain activities that require the simultaneous use of the body and the eyes. The best ways to improve hand-eye coordination are listed below.

Participate in a Sport: You can improve hand-eye coordination by participating in any sport that involves physical movement of the body and the eyes at the same time. This kind of activity can sharpen your reaction times, reflexes and accuracy when aiming for a target.
Try Hand Exercise Activities: You can make a habit of utilising your hands and practising hand-eye coordination by engaging in activities that you can do easily by yourself and do not require a lot of physical effort. These activities can include juggling, bouncing a ball against the wall and catching it and sewing/knitting.

Is Knowing which Eye is Dominant Important for Hand-Eye Coordination?

Yes, knowing which eye is dominant is important for hand-eye coordination. Knowing your dominant eye can be important for hand-eye coordination as it can assist you with your performance in certain sports and activities.You can determine your dominant eye using the dominant eye test, which can be carried out at home. In sports such as shooting targets, golf and baseball, knowing your dominant eye can help you focus better on required targets. Knowing your dominant eye can also help you with taking properly aligned photos.

How Does Poor Hand-Eye Coordination Increase Injuries?

Poor hand-eye coordination may increase injuries in situations such as during sports or when cooking. Hand-eye coordination processes the visual information of what you see and coordinates the body to carry out the necessary actions according to Cognifit. Therefore, you may be more prone to injuries as your brain may have difficulty properly guiding your body to position itself or respond to the situation appropriately. Poor hand-eye coordination may lead to ball sport injuries or cuts and burns. For your children, you can consult with your doctor to ensure there are no underlying conditions that may be causing poor hand-eye coordination.

Is Poor Hand-Eye Coordination a Risk Factor For Falling?

No, poor hand-eye coordination may not be a risk factor for falling. Poor Hand-eye coordination can hinder our ability to move our eyes and hands in synchronisation, however, our mobility can still function normally. Hand-eye coordination helps our completion of specific tasks according to the National Library of Medicine. Poor hand-eye coordination does not likely put you at a higher risk of falling. It may be more noticeable during sports, writing and typing according to the Optometrists Network.