Reliability of a hand gripping endurance test

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Human Movement Science
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Assessing hand grip endurance is crucial for evaluating functional capacity in various settings.
• Existing tests may lack the precision needed for detailed analysis of endurance decline.
• A need exists for reliable and reproducible methods to quantify hand grip fatigue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reproducibility of a novel hand grip endurance test.
• To determine the reliability of key parameters derived from the test, including torque and work decay.
• To explore the potential applications of this test in fields like ergonomics and rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• Thirty healthy subjects performed maximal hand grip endurance tests on six separate occasions.
• Tests were conducted using a hand grip tool attached to an isokinetic dynamometer at 45 degrees/s.
• Data on peak torque, mechanical work, and decay parameters were collected and analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCC).

Main Results:

• Excellent reproducibility (ICCC > 0.8) was found for basal torque values in both tested positions.
• Substantial to almost perfect reproducibility (ICCC > 0.6) was observed for the slope values of torque decay over time.
• The test demonstrated high reliability for key parameters related to hand grip endurance and fatigue.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed hand grip endurance test exhibits high reproducibility and reliability.
• This test is suitable for assessing endurance and fatigue in hand grip movements.
• Potential applications include enhancing assessments in ergonomics and guiding vocational rehabilitation programs.