How Do Fingers Move?

Larry A. Law

We often take our hands for granted. We use them all of the time. There are 27 bones in our hands. Half of those are located in our fingers. Each finger has three bones and the thumb has only two. Scientists have estimated that our fingers will bend and flex 25 million times over the course of our lifetime! Our fingers have amazing nerve endings and touch receptors capable of sensing temperature, texture, pressure, movement, and much more. The human body has more than 600 muscles helping it to move, walk, and run. Interestingly, our fingers have none—zero! So how do fingers perform the intricate tasks, with so much dexterity, without any muscles? 

Finger Movement

27 individual bones constitute the human hand. Those bones are called the carpal bones (8 in the base of the hand), the metacarpal bones (5 in the middle part of the hand) and phalanges (14 finger bones) connected by joints and ligaments. About one quarter of all our body’s bones are found in our hands. Making those bones move together in a coordinated way is no easy thing. It turns out that fingers are controlled by muscles in our forearms and the tops and palms of our hands.

A Symphony of Coordinated Movement

Small intrinsic muscles in the hand allow our fingers to perform the fine motor movements. Extrinsic muscles in the forearm and elbow control how the wrist and hand move. Finger bones are connected to muscles by tendons. Tendons are fibrous, cordlike connective tissue. When the attached muscles contract, fingers respond and can perform a wide range of motion as a result. Flexor tendons in the palm help fingers to bend while the extensor tendons on the top of the hand are responsible for straightening the fingers back out. These essential movements allow our hands to touch, grasp, and hold objects. If you watch a baby, you can observe the process they go through to learn how to control and make their hands function in the way they want. The human body is such an incredible creation we all too often take for granted.