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Updated: Nov 19, 2025
Evaluating the Function of the Foot Core System in the Elderly
Published on: March 11, 2022
Hand grip strength is strongly associated with lower limb strength but only weakly with postural control in
Viktor Strandkvist1, Agneta Larsson2, Mascha Pauelsen2
1Department of Health Sciences, Division of Health, Medicine and Rehabilitation, Luleå University of Technology, Laboratorievägen 14, 971 87 Luleå, Sweden; Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, The OLIN Unit, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Umeå University, Robertsviksgatan 9, 971 89 Luleå, Sweden.
Background:
Hand grip strength is frequently used as a measurement of muscle strength, especially among older adults. Muscle strength is only one of the many components in postural control and it is currently unclear to what extent hand grip strength is associated with postural control. The aim was to analyze the association between hand grip strength and lower limb muscle strength, and postural control among older adults.
Methods:
Forty-five community-dwelling individuals over 70 years of age provided isometric hand grip strength and lower limb strength (including hip extension and abduction, knee flexion and extension, and ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion), as well as postural control measurements. In the latter, center of pressure excursions were recorded for quiet stance and limits of stability tests on a force plate. Orthogonal projection of latent structures regression models were used to analyze associations between hand grip strength and lower limb strength as well as postural control, respectively.
Results:
Lower limb strength explained 74.4% of the variance in hand grip strength. All lower limb muscle groups were significantly associated with hand grip strength. In a corresponding model, postural control measured with center of pressure excursions explained 20.7% of the variance in a statistically significant, albeit weak, model.
Conclusions:
These results support that hand grip strength is a valid method to estimate lower limb strength among older adults on a group level. However, strength measurements seem insufficient as a substitute for measuring postural control, and therefore specific balance tests are necessary.
