Journal
JOURNAL OF HAND SURGERY-AMERICAN VOLUME
Volume 27A, Issue 5, Pages 897-901Publisher
W B SAUNDERS CO
DOI: 10.1053/jhsu.2002.34315
Keywords
dynamometer; handgrip strength; hand size; optimal grip span
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study investigates which position (grip span) on the standard grip dynamometer results in maximum grip strength. Our null hypotheses included (1) no optimal grip span exists for measuring grip strength and (2) optimal grip span is unrelated to hand size. We also intended to derive a simple mathematical algorithm to adapt grip span to hand size. Seventy healthy subjects (40 women/30 men; mean age, 40 years; range; 20-80 years) free of upper-limb lesions were evaluated. Each hand was randomly tested on 10 occasions using 5 different grip spans. Our findings showed that (1) optimal grip span was identified for both genders and (2) hand size and optimal grip span correlated in women but not in men. When measuring handgrip strength in women, hand size must be taken into consideration. We provide a mathematical equation (y = x/5 + 1.5 cm) to adapt optimal grip span (y) to hand size (x) in women. In adult men, optimal grip span can be set at a fixed value (5.5 cm). (J Hand Surg 2002;27A:897-901. Copyright (C) 2002 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.).
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available