Reference values for hand muscle strength evaluation methods in healthy young adults

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study determined the hand muscle strength parameters and reference values in healthy subjects using the Nicholas Manual Muscle Tester (NMMT) and Manual Muscle Test (MMT) and compared these methods. METHODS: The study was carried out with 200 (102 males, 98 females) healthy adults aged between 18-25 years. Muscle strength evaluations of the hand were performed to determine hand motor ability using both NMMT and MMT. RESULTS: The mean values of age, weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were 19.48 +/- 0.95 years, 60.66 +/- 8.82 kg, 165.30 +/- 7.95 cm and 22.14 +/- 2.25 kg/m(2), respectively, in females, whereas the same values were found as 20.40 +/- 1.34 years, 72.53 +/- 9.45 kg, 176.20 +/- 6.29 cm and 23.25 +/- 2.90 kg/m(2), respectively, in males. There was a statistically significant difference in all demographic data between genders (p < 0.05). Furthermore, correlation coefficient in NMMT was found to be between 0.503 and 0.954. However, there was no correlation between the MMT and NMMT results. CONCLUSION: The observations presented need to be taken into consideration for evaluate musculoskeletal problems and also can be used as reference values for evaluating treatment outcomes.