ArticlesEffect of self-selected handgrip position on maximal handgrip strength
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Participants
Thirty men and 26 women volunteered to participate in the study. The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) was 30±11.5 years (range, 19–60y). The average body height was 1.76±0.06m (range, 1.59–1.97m). The volunteers were students and workers of a (para)-medical college. None of the subjects reported any musculoskeletal problems. After providing the volunteers with information about the study, they were asked to sign a written informed consent document, in accordance with the Declaration of
Results
All participants completed the tests successfully. The self-selected handgrip position resulted in the highest grip strength compared with the non-self-selected handgrip position, both for sitting and for standing (table 1). For sitting and standing, the mean difference was 2.3kg (P≤.001) and 2.1kg (P≤.001), respectively. While sitting, 26 (46%) participants preferred handgrip position 2 and 30 (54%) participants preferred handgrip position 3. While standing, 30 (54%) participants preferred
Discussion
Our study showed that participants choose the optimal handgrip position to deliver maximal handgrip strength while sitting and while standing. Therefore, it is possible to introduce self-selection of the handgrip position in a test protocol to measure maximal handgrip strength. However, 1 remark has to be made concerning the sample population. Participants studied or worked at a (para)-medical college. Although they had no experience with the hand dynamometer, because of their high education
Conclusions
Both in sitting and in standing, participants were able to self-select the handgrip position on the Jamar hand dynamometer with which the maximal handgrip strength could be delivered. Hand length, finger length, and hand width were not good estimates of the preferred handgrip position to deliver maximal strength. Therefore, it may be useful to introduce self-selection of the handgrip position in protocols to assess the maximal hand grip strength. These findings encourage further research on
Acknowledgment
We thank Linda Faber for her help in data collection.
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