Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Measurement of Spatial Stability in Precision Grip
Published on: June 4, 2020
Visual feedback and weight reduction of a grip strength dynamometer do not increase reliability in healthy children
H M Ties Molenaar1, Marjolein de Kraker, J Michiel Zuidam
1Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. H.Molenaar@erasmusmc.nl
Insights
This study found that three grip strength measurement protocols are reliable for children aged 4-12. The suspension protocol showed slightly higher force levels, offering a potential improvement for grip strength assessments.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical assessment
- Biomechanical analysis in children
Background:
- Grip strength measurement in children presents challenges due to equipment size, short attention spans, and task comprehension.
- Reliable measurement protocols are crucial for accurate research and clinical evaluations in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the test-retest reliability of three different grip strength measurement protocols for children.
- To evaluate the efficacy of a suspension protocol in potentially improving force measurements.
Main Methods:
- A test-retest reliability study was conducted on healthy children aged 4-12 years.
- Three protocols were assessed: American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT), visual feedback, and a weight-reducing suspension protocol.
- Grip strength was measured using a Lode dynamometer.
Main Results:
- All three protocols demonstrated high test-retest reliability, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.95 to 0.97 for both dominant and nondominant hands.
- No statistically significant differences in reliability were observed among the protocols.
- The suspension protocol yielded slightly, but significantly, higher grip strength readings.
Conclusions:
- The ASHT, visual feedback, and suspension protocols are all reliable for assessing grip strength in children.
- The suspension protocol may offer an advantage by producing higher force measurements, warranting further investigation for clinical applications.
Study Design:
Test-retest reliability study on grip strength in children.
Introduction:
Measuring grip strength in children is difficult because of the weight and size of the instrument, brief attention span, and possible lack of task understanding. Therefore, adaptations to the measurement protocols to improve reliability would be very important for research and clinical evaluation.
Purpose:
In this study, we compared the reliability of a grip strength dynamometer (Lode dynamometer, Lode BV, Groningen, The Netherlands) using three different protocols.
Methods:
Test-retest reliability of the American Society of Hand Therapists protocol in 104 healthy children (4-12 years) was compared with the reliability in 63 healthy children of a visual feedback protocol and a suspension protocol reducing weight of the instrument.
Results:
For the total group, intraclass correlation coefficients for the dominant and nondominant hands were 0.95-0.97 for all protocols, indicating that all three protocols were reliable.
Conclusion:
No statistically significant difference was found among the reliability of the different protocols, but the suspension protocol produced small but significantly higher force levels.
Level Of Evidence:
Not applicable.
