OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to establish normative data on spherical grip strength of children 3 to 6 years of age with the Martin Vigorimeter. METHOD Two hundred twenty-five preschoolers in the Kalamazoo, Michigan, area were tested with standardized positioning and instructions. The mean of three trials for each hand was used as the grip-strength score. A repeated measure design ...

We examined whether 18-, 24-, and 42-month-old children, like adults, prospectively adjust their hand movements to insure a comfortable hand posture at the endpoint, and whether children can learn to grasp efficiently by observation. The task required grasping a bar and fitting it into a hollow cylinder in order to make it light up. Measures of quantitative (grip height), as well as qualitative...

INTRODUCTION In Parkinson's disease (PD), a resting tremor of the thumb may affect the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) and influence hand functions. We investigated the relationship between FPL tendon thickness and hand function in PD patients and compared these characteristics with those in healthy controls. METHODS The hand grip and pinch strengths were measured. The participants completed the...

OBJECTIVE Five styles of commercial static wrist extensor orthoses were compared to determine whether any style, or styles, afforded better power grip strength or finger dexterity. Because wrist extensor orthoses are intended for use during functional tasks, their influence on hand function is of great importance. METHOD Twenty-three right-hand-dominant women without upper extremity dysfuncti...

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to provide norms for grip strength in children. A total of 530 Swedish 4-16-y-olds was tested with the instrument Grippit. The instrument estimates peak grip strength over a 10s period, and sustained grip strength averaged across the 10s. The increase in grip strength with age was approximately parallel for boys and girls until 10 y of age, after which boys ...

[Purpose] To compare the toe flexor, hand grip and knee extensor strengths of young and elderly men, and to examine the association between toe flexor strength and physical activity or inactivity levels. [Subjects and Methods] Young (n=155, 18-23 years) and elderly (n=60, 65-88 years) men participated in this study. Toe flexor, hand grip, and knee extensor strength were measured. Physical activ...

A new system for measuring strength of the hand using a torsion dynamometer linked to a microprocessor is described. The system permits analysis of timed squeezes of both grip and pinch and is adjustable to all sizes of hand and degrees of hand deformity. Results obtained with the system were found to be reproducible, and the rigid device was acceptable to a group of patients with arthritic han...

During object manipulation, grip force is coordinated with load force, which is primarily determined by object kinematics. Proximal arm kinematics may affect grip force control, as proximal segment motion could affect control of distal hand muscles via biomechanical and/or neural pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of proximal kinematics on grip force modulation during...

We investigated whether there is an optimal grip span for determining the maximum handgrip strength in preschool children and if it is influenced by gender, age, or hand size. A total of 292 preschool children (3-5 years; 59.2% boys) carried out the handgrip strength test with different grip spans (4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 cm). The hand size was also measured. We also determined the reliabil...