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Reliability and Correlations Among Handgrip Strength Measurements and Muscle Power in Older Women
Alexandra L Khartabil1, Ty B Palmer1
1Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Objectives:
The reliability of handgrip strength measurements and their relationship with muscle power in older adults is not well understood. This study aimed to determine the reliability and correlations between handgrip strength measurements and muscle power in older women.
Methods:
Twenty older healthy women (67.8±5.8 years) participated in two separate testing sessions. During each session, handgrip contractions were performed to evaluate strength, specifically measuring peak force and rate of force development (RFD) across various time intervals. Muscle power was assessed by measuring sit-to-stand peak power and seated medicine ball throw distance.
Results:
Handgrip strength measurements, sit-to-stand peak power, and seated medicine ball throw distance demonstrated good test-retest reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficients were between 0.930 and 0.978. The coefficients of variation were between 2.7 and 8.0%. There were significant correlations between handgrip strength measurements and both sit-to-stand peak power (r = 0.485-0.533, P = 0.015-0.030) and seated medicine ball throw distance (r = 0.457-0.634, P = 0.003-0.043).
Conclusions:
Our study showed good reliability for handgrip strength measurements, sit-to-stand peak power, and seated medicine ball throw distance in older women. The significant correlations we observed suggest that handgrip peak force and RFD may be important variables associated with one's muscle power.
