Grip strength among college youth and its relation to body postures

Abstract

Many daily functions and sporting events require high activity levels of the flexor musculature of the forearms and hands. These are the muscles involved in gripping strength. Sports like tennis, football, basketball, and daily activities such as carrying laundry, turning a doorknob, and vacuuming, some degree of grip strength is necessary to be successful. A study was conducted to understand the grip strength among college youth in relation to gender, dominant and non dominant hands, postures and upper arm positions and grip span. A standard isometric grip strength protocol with 3 replications was administered on 12 sample divided equally by gender to examine the observational variations. Results indicated that the gender significantly made a difference in grip strength, as boys were found demonstrating higher grip strength for both the hands. Between right and left hand, irrespective of gender, right hand was found showing higher grip strength. A significant variation in the grip strength was confirmed due to grip span when compared among postures and varied spans.