ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2018 September;58(9):1325-30

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07473-4

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Toe grip strength in middle-aged individuals as a risk factor for falls

Ryota TSUYUGUCHI ¹ ✉, Satoshi KUROSE ², Takayuki SETO ³, Nana TAKAO ¹, Satoshi TAGASHIRA ¹, Hiromi TSUTSUMI ², Shingo OTSUKI ³, Yutaka KIMURA ²

¹ Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan; ² Department of Medical Science, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan; ³ Department of Sports and Health, Osaka Sangyo University, Osaka, Japan

BACKGROUND: Toe grip strength is the force of a toe on a surface. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between falls in middle-aged individuals and physical strength factors such as toe grip strength and knee extension strength.
METHODS: The subjects were 194 middle-aged individuals (388 feet) who were independent in daily life, received no nursing care, and participated in a health sports event organized by a sports club. We evaluated the body composition, blood pressure, vascular age, systemic response, bone density, knee extension strength, and toe grip strength, and examined their relationship using a self-administered questionnaire survey.
RESULTS: The fall, near-fall, and no fall groups included 7, 36, and 151 subjects, respectively; the high and low risk groups included 43 and 151 subjects, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was performed with risk of falls as the dependent variable, and factors that showed a significant difference in the comparison of the high and low risk groups as independent variables. In this analysis, toe grip strength and diastolic blood pressure were identified as independent risk factors for a fall.
CONCLUSIONS: Toe grip strength is an independent risk factor for falls, and improvement of toe grip strength might prevent falls.

KEY WORDS: Accidental falls - Middle aged - Risk factors - Toes