Grip Strength and Endurance: Influences of Anthropometric Characteristics, Posture, and Gender

Background. The maximum grip strength measurement assesses the effectiveness of therapeutic approaches for upper limb dysfunction, provides an objective measure of the reliability of hand functions, and measures functional performance during occupational tasks. Objective. The purpose of the study was to investigate muscle performance in terms of grip strength and endurance in both genders with different forearm and shoulder abduction postures. Methods. Thirty-one healthy right-handed participants (15 men and 16 women) volunteered for this study. For present observational study, a full factorial experimental design of 2 x 3 x 3 was used: gender (male and female), different forearm posture (supination, pronation, and neutral) and shoulder abduction (0 degrees, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees). The response was recorded in terms of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) grip strength and grip endurance time at 50% MVC. A Multivariate analysis of covariance was performed using SPSS 25.0 at a significance level of 0.05 Results. The male participants had higher grip strength (698.1N +/- 34.3N) and endurance (49.1 +/- 3.2 seconds) as compared to females (321.6N +/- 38.1N) and (34.9 +/- 5.6 seconds) respectively. The forearm pronation postures showed the highest grip strength in male (724.9N +/- 119.7N) and female (327.6N +/- 90.2N). In addition, shoulder posture with 0 degrees abduction showed highest grip strength in male (742.6N +/- 124.5N) and female (369.8N +/- 111.4N) participants. In addition, age (p = 0.003), weight (p = 0.016), palm length (p < 0.001), and palm circumference (p = 0.012) also significantly affect the grip strength. Conclusions. A significant improvement in muscular performance in terms of hand grip strength and endurance were reported, however, they were significantly dependent on gender and anthropometric variables. Palm length and gender were the most important parameters affecting the grip strength and endurance.