Final answer:
A hand massage stimulates the intrinsic muscles of the hand including the thenar and hypothenar muscles, as well as the lumbricals and interosseous muscles, leading to improved finger dexterity and function.
Step-by-step explanation:
When giving a hand massage, you are mainly stimulating the intrinsic muscles of the hand, which are responsible for precise movements and dexterity. These muscles include the thenar and hypothenar muscles, the intermediate muscles, such as the lumbricals and interosseous muscles (palmar and dorsal), which are all located within the hand itself.
The thenar muscles consist of the abductor pollicis brevis, opponens pollicis, flexor pollicis brevis, and adductor pollicis, located on the lateral part of the palm. On the medial part of the palm, the hypothenar muscles include the abductor digiti minimi, flexor digiti minimi brevis, and opponens digiti minimi. Lastly, the intermediate muscles in the middle of the palm include the lumbricals, which are involved in flexing the fingers at the metacarpophalangeal joints and extending them at the interphalangeal joints. These intrinsic muscles are essential for hand and finger activities such as typing, writing, and gripping.