Influence of Testing Posture and Elbow Position on Grip Strength

This study was designed to determine the effect of testing posture and elbow position on grip strength in individuals aged between 9 and 18 years. A hand dynamometer (Takei, Tokyo, Japan) was used to measure grip strength of 546 subjects (213 girls, 333 boys) in two positions: (1) standing with elbow in full extension, forearm in full supination (anatomical position) and (2) sitting with elbow in 90° flexion, forearm in semipronation lying on an arm rest. The subjects were asked to squeeze the dynamometer three times with each hand and for each testing positions with 1-minute resting period between each trial in order to overcome fatigue. Paired samples t test was used to evaluate the two testing positions. Only the right grip strength was significantly higher in anatomical position in girls (p<0.05). Besides this result, no statistically significant differences were reported for the left grip strength of girls, and for both hands of boys (p>0.05) when the two testing positions were considered. The testing posture and elbow position had mostly little effect on grip strength of the young age group contrary to adults, which may somewhat be explained with the still ongoing process of the individuals participated in the study.