Turning over small discs is a hand skill exercise for finger and thumb control. At a table, with a row of poker chips or large coins in front of you, you pick up each one with the fingertips of one hand, flip it and put it back, without sliding it to the table edge first. Occupational therapists and physios use tasks like this when a hand has gone weak or clumsy, after a stroke or a hand injury for example.

How to do the turning over small discs

Sit up tall at a table. Lay a short row of small flat pieces in front of you, as in the video, such as poker chips, checkers pieces or large coins.
Rest your other hand in your lap or on the table. The hand you are working with, often the weaker one, does all the work.
Reach for the first disc and get hold of it with the tips of your thumb and fingers where it lies. Do not slide it to the edge of the table to pick it up.
Turn it over with your fingers and thumb and lay it back down in its place, then move on to the next disc.
Work your way along the row while your body stays still and your shoulder stays low and relaxed. When every disc is turned, go back along the row and turn them over again.

What you should feel

More concentration than effort. The small muscles of the hand, which do the careful fingertip work here, may tire before the arm does.

Common mistakes

Sliding the disc to the table edge, or using the other hand to help flip it.
Hunching or lifting the shoulder of the working arm.
Leaning or twisting the whole body toward each disc instead of reaching with the arm.
Rushing along the row, so discs get knocked out of place or dropped.

How often

Task practice like this has no set dose. Many programs use a row of 5 to 10 discs and work along it 2 to 3 times, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in any finger joint or at the base of your thumb.
New or worse numbness or tingling in your fingers or thumb.
Call emergency services straight away for any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away: sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, or a sudden severe headache.
Your finger or thumb joints are more swollen, hot or sore afterward.
Since the fracture or cast, the hand is getting more painful rather than less, the skin becomes very sensitive to light touch, or the hand changes color, temperature, swelling or sweating compared with the other one, or looks shiny. See your doctor or physio as soon as you can, within a few days at most, as this can be complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and early treatment may help.

From the clinic

Bigger, thicker discs are easier to grip, so drink coasters or large checkers pieces make a good start. Thin coins are harder, because the fingertips have almost nothing to hold. If your fingertips have lost some feeling, watch your hand as you work, since you may not feel a disc slipping. Once this gets easier, picking up small objects works the same tip-to-tip pinch.

Poker chips and coins are small enough to choke on, so keep them away from young children and tidy them up after each session. With swallowing trouble, or with someone who tends to put things in their mouth, use discs too large to fit in the mouth, such as coasters, and make sure someone stays close by.

After a stroke or a nerve injury, your occupational therapist or physio picks the level, such as the size of the discs and how much help you get. This page describes the task in general. It is not a rehab plan. After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Turning over small discs