Type of Matured Pincer Grasp and Fine Motor Development in Preterm Children at The Age of 3-4 Years

Background: Preterm children (PTC) are at a risk of subtle deficits in manual dexterity, sensory-motor integration and eye-hand coordination which are found to affect their academic competencies and daily functioning skills. Efficient grasping requires the attainment of force control, coordinated hand movements and effective in-hand manipulation with translation which concords with appropriate fine motor skill development. Different types of mature pincer grasps are identified in a child’s development which includes tripod, quadrupod and lateral tripod. This current study intends to identify the type of mature pincer grasp and level of fine motor development of preterm children at 3-4 years. Subjects and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out in 25 preterm children recruited from Karthikeyan Child Developmental Unit. Preterm children of 3-4 years of age who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Type of mature pincer grasp was assessed by observation and level of fine motor development was assessed with Peabody Developmental Motor Scale. Results: Out of 25 children who participated in the study, 11 children were found to use tripod grasp, 10 children used quadrupod grasp and 4 children used lateral tripod grasp. The mean fine motor quotient was 97, 87.7 and 70 in children with tripod, quadrupod and lateral tripod grasp. Spearman’s correlation showed strong correlation with rs value of -0.71 and significant p value ≤ 0.05 conveying that PTC with tripod grasp have higher performance in fine motor skills followed by PTC with quadrupod and lateral tripod grasp. Conclusion: The study conveys that fine motor development is reduced in PTC and tripod grasp is the most efficient grasp with appropriate fine motor development which would be helpful in carrying out fine functional activities. The result of the study emphasizes that typical mature tripod grasp should be trained at an early age along with fine motor skills in PTC.