Do functional and biological factors influence the handgrip strength: A systematic review.
Louise Myles, Fiona Barnett, Nicola Massy-Westropp
PMID 40337113WHAT IT FOUND
Handgrip strength varies significantly by height, hand size, ethnicity, and occupation, not just age and gender.
Therapists should compare a patient's score to norms from their specific population and consider these biological factors before judging impairment.
Key findings
01Height, hand length, and hand width (palm width) show the strongest correlations with handgrip strength among biological factors.
02Populations from developed countries or predominantly Caucasian groups had higher handgrip strength results compared with South Asian and African populations.
03Occupational demands influence handgrip strength, with manual workers showing higher strength than office workers in several studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The strict inclusion criteria requiring full ASHT protocol adherence meant many relevant studies were excluded, potentially limiting the breadth of evidence. Several included studies were conducted by the same research group on specific ethnic populations, which may reduce generalisability to global populations. The review did not include studies published before 2010. Many of the included studies used convenience samples rather than randomised population samples.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret a low handgrip strength score as a sign of muscle weakness or pathology without checking the patient's height, hand size, and ethnic background against population-specific norms. A score that appears low compared to general Western norms may be normal for a person of smaller stature or from a different ethnic group.