PLoS ONE (Jan 2018)

Association between handgrip strength, balance, and knee flexion/extension strength in older adults.

  • Angelica Castilho Alonso,
  • Samia Maria Ribeiro,
  • Natália Mariana Silva Luna,
  • Mark D Peterson,
  • Danilo Sales Bocalini,
  • Marcos Maurício Serra,
  • Guilherme Carlos Brech,
  • Julia Maria D'Andréa Greve,
  • Luiz Eugênio Garcez-Leme

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198185
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 6
p. e0198185

Abstract

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The objective of the study was to examine the association between handgrip strength (HGS), knee flexion and extension strength, and static and dynamic balance in older women. One hundred and ten women with a mean age of 67.4±5.9 years were assessed for dynamic postural balance using the Time Up & Go Test (TUG) with and without cognitive tasks. Semi-static balance was assessed by means of a force platform; knee flexor and extensor muscle strength was calculated using an isokinetic dynamometer; and HGS using a hand held dynamometer. Weaker HGS was significantly correlated with worse performance in dynamic postural balance, as well as performance with TUG with and without cognitive tasks; however, there was no correlation between HGS and static balance. There was a moderate positive correlation between knee flexion/extension strength and HGS. This suggests that HGS could be used as a proxy indicator of overall strength capacity for clinical screening among older women.