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GRIP STRENGTH CHANGES IN RELATION TO DIFFERENT BODY POSTURES, ELBOW AND FOREARM POSITIONS

Background of the study: Several activities in day to day life involving upper limb require good hand grip strength. A reliable evaluation of hand grip forms an integral part of rehabilitation, not only to assess the strength of muscles involved in gripping but also to apply as a tool in rehabilitating patients with variable levels of hand injuries. Various sports require some degree of grip strength which improves performance and plays a key role in preventing overall injuries relevant to forearm and hand. Since hand grip is considered to be affected by positions of various segments of the body, this study was designed to evaluate grip strength at three different body postures, three different forearm positions and two elbow positions, results of which would establish an optimal body posture and position of segments to evaluate and train for maximal grip strength. Materials and Methods: 40 healthy students from department of Physiotherapy and School of Nursing (20 male and 20 female) volunteered to be a part of this study. Hand grip strength was evaluated using SAEHANS Dynamometer at different test positions mentioned above under standard conditions. Results: Statistically significant results were observed when comparisons were made using ANOVA, between male and female participants and between posture, elbow and forearm positions at p<.005 level of significance. It was found that standing posture with elbow flexion and forearm supination produced better grip strength than other positions. Differences in mean of grip strength between postures and positions showed little variations which might be statistically significant but not clinically. Discussion & Conclusion: From the results of the present study, standing posture was observed to be eliciting maximal grip strength followed by sitting. Forearm supination produced better strength than midprone while pronation position decreased the grip strength. Forearm supination and elbow flexion positions in standing produced maximal handgrip strength, even though elbow positions, flexion and extension did not show significant differences.