Fine motor & dexterity
Nine-Hole Peg Test
Fine finger dexterity, timed in seconds. One of the fastest dexterity screens to administer and a standard outcome measure in stroke, MS, and Parkinson disease.
Administration
- Standard board: nine holes 10 mm in diameter, 15 mm deep, spaced 32 mm apart, with a shallow container for the pegs.
- Participant takes pegs one at a time from the container, places all nine in the holes, then removes them one at a time back to the container.
- Timing starts when the participant touches the first peg and stops when the last peg hits the container.
- Test the dominant hand first. One practice trial per hand before the timed trial is a common protocol; record which protocol was used.
- Score is total time in seconds; lower is better.
Normative data
| Group | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 19.0 (3.2) | 20.6 (3.9) |
| Female | 17.9 (2.8) | 19.6 (3.4) |
Time in seconds, mean (SD). Overall adult means; performance slows with age, so use age-group norms from the original table when available.
Source: Mathiowetz et al., 1985 (OTJR)
Interpretation
Compare time against the sex-matched mean; females tend to score slightly faster than males and dexterity declines with age. In neurologic populations, serial change over time is generally more informative than a single comparison to healthy norms.
References
- Mathiowetz V, Weber K, Kashman N, Volland G. Adult norms for the Nine Hole Peg Test of finger dexterity. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health. 1985;5(1):24-38.
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Rehabilitation Measures Database: Nine-Hole Peg Test. Instrument summary, psychometrics, and normative references. PubMed