Hand Grip Strength: Normative Data for Young Adults

Background: The reliable and valid evaluation of handgrip strength is of great importance in determining the affectivity of different treatment strategies and procedures. It is widely accepted that grip strength provides an objective index of the functional integrity of upper extremity. Many treatment protocols compare the strength of the injured limb with that of uninjured limb or compare with normative data of same group individuals. There are controversies regarding the difference in the handgrip strength between dominant and non-dominant hand in the left and right-hand dominant people.

Purpose of The Study: The main objective of this study is to establish the normative data of young adults for their handgrip strength.

Material and Method: Study includes 100 healthy (both Right and left-handed) subjects between the age group of 18 to 25 years with mean age 21.02 + 1.99 years. Handgrip strength of the subjects was measured using Hand held Dynamometer (ICC=0.9994).

Results: The results were analyzed using students 't' and the average dominant handgrip strength in young adults was found to be 29.30 + 9.772 kgs and for non-dominant hand 27.88 + 10.012 kgs, which was statically significant (t = 8.539, p = .001).

Conclusion: We conclude that the handgrip strength of male is greater than that of female. There was an overall handgrip strength difference of 7.2% in favor of dominant hand.