Grip Strength
Description: Grip strength, measured as handgrip strength using a hand dynamometer, typically the JAMAR (Fred Sammons, INC, Brookfield, IL) hand dynamometer has been demonstrated to be a valid representative measure of general body strength. In addition, grip strength has been associated with mortality for females and males, as a predictor of mortality over 30 years later in men.
Measures of grip strength are performed with the participant sitting, the elbow flexed to 90 degrees, the subject grasping the dynamometer handle. Three trials of maximum voluntary contraction of grip are recorded for each hand (rests between trials and hands). The largest value for grip strength in the stronger hand has been recorded as the grip strength.
References:
Rantanen, T., Volpato S, Ferrucci, L., Heikkinen E, Fried, L, Guralnik, J.Handgrip strength and cause-specific mortality in older disabled women: exploring the mechanism. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003; 51: 636-641.
Rantanen, T.,Harris T., Leveille, S. et al. Muscle strength and body mass index as long term predictors of mortality in initially healthy men. J Gerontol Med Sci 2000; 55A: M168-M173.