A Study on Grip and Pinch Strength in Healthy Indian Adult Population

Abstract

Hand is an important component of the human body which performs numerous tasks. The hand grip strength has been described as the power of the combined contraction of the extrinsic and intrinsic muscle of the hand that flexes joints of the hand. Measurement of handgrip strength is an important component for hand rehabilitation. It assesses the patient’s initial limitations and provides a quick assessment of the patient's progress throughout the treatment. The power grip is the result of forceful flexion of all the joints of the fingers with maximal voluntary contraction of the hand that the subject is able to exert under normal bio kinetic condition. Normative data provide a reliable method in clinical evaluation of the impact from several injuries to either the musculoskeletal or the neurological system of the hand. Moreover, normal data have a major role in assessing the effectiveness of a surgical procedure and offer a clinical approach for patient follow-up. This research paper is the outcome of an empirical study conducted on testing of Grip and Pinch strength in Indian context. The aim of this paper is to present the methodology and result of the study along with analytical expression. The study intended to measure normative value of hand grip strength and pinch grip strength for the Indian population from all four zones of India with age group cohort of 18-80 years. For measuring pinch strength the gauge was placed between the thumb pad and the radial side of the middle phalanx of the index finger and the rest of the procedure was the same. This study investigated the normal hand grip and pinch grip in a normal healthy Indian population. 600 healthy subjects with an age cohort of 18-40, 41-60 and 61 above were taken