DETERMINATION AND COMPARISON OF HANDGRIP STRENGTH MEASUREMENTS BY TWO DIFFERENT DYNAMOMETERS AND MEASUREMENT METHODS IN GERIATRIC OUTPATIENTS
Project no. 21562 · Status: Kapanmış · 2020
Summary
<p><strong>Aim:</strong> Grip strength (GS) is broadly used in various areas such as rehabilitation, sports, and geriatrics for muscle strength measurement, functional assessments, and the diagnosis of sarcopenia. There is a potential for measurement differences as there are different dynamometers available. Studies comparing GS measurements by variable tools have conflicting results, and Jamar hydraulic dynamometer (Jamar) has not been compared to Jamar PLUS+ Digital (Jamar+) in older adults. So, we aimed to assess GS measurements with the Jamar as the reference standard against Jamar+, and spring-type Takei T.KK. 5401 (Takei) digital dynamometers</p><p><strong>Materials and Methods:</strong> 110 patients over the age of 60 admitted to the Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic between March 2019 and March 2021 were included in this study. Inter-instrumental relative and absolute reliability was determined. The differences between dynamometers were evaluated by Bland–Altman plots and measurement error.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The mean age of the participants was 69.4 ± 6.3 (60-90) years and 56.4% were female. The measurements with Jamar+, and Takei dynamometers were reliable and valid regarding Jamar dynamometer. Takei and Jamar+ dynamometers overestimated GS over the Jamar dynamometer.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Though the differences in the measured values might be disregarded in clinical practice, individuals defined to have low GS varied by the use of different dynamometers. So, GS better be measured by the same dynamometer in serial measurements of older individuals.</p>