A study to improve the reliability and validity of hand strength evaluations and establish clinical norms for adults aged 20 to 75+ years was published in 1985. The normative clinical data for hand grip and pinch strength has continued to be examined and compared, based on these results, since then.  When the data in 1985 was collected one of the concerns for the researchers and a limitation in their study was that stronger volunteers might be more likely to participate than those who thought they may do poorly. “This could cause a biased sample in favor of higher hand strength scores.”  What should, in fact, give us all pause is that regardless of gender, power grip and lateral pinch grip strength has declined in millennials (age 20-34 years) since the original findings!

The National Center for Health Statistics just released that there has also been a “drop in overall life expectancy for the first time since 1993, particularly among people younger than 65.” Are these two statistics related? 

The American Heart Journal published, “The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study: Examining the impact of societal influences on chronic noncommunicable diseases in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Researchers measured the grip strength of 140,000 adults in 17 countries and followed their health for four years, their findings suggested “weaker muscle strength makes it more likely that a person will die sooner if he or she develops a chronic medical problem, compared with those who have more muscle strength.”

As we have become more mechanized in agriculture, robotic in our manufacturing and automated in our lives we cannot forget the importance of exercise. Our musculature is the largest organ in our bodies and must remain strong and vibrant throughout one’s life. Keeping strong and Getting Strong must always be a priority in healthful living.

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