Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study is to collect five types of maximum hand strength among workers in the manufacturing industry in Taiwan. Methods: This study is a cross sectional study with a stratified and convenient sample of workers on the production line in manufacturing industries in Central Taiwan. In total, we recruited 198 healthy subjects to participate in this study. Five types of hand strength were measured in both hands three times with 3 min rests between trials. Results: The strength of females for these five types of hand exertions were 52.0% to 67.6% of the strength of males (p < 0.001). For both genders, there was a main effect for the types of hand strength for the right hand (p < 0.001) and the left hand (p < 0.001). In general, the hand strength in U.S. and EU countries was 1.2 to 1.7 times greater than the strength among the three types of hand exertions in this study. Conclusion: These results can be used to evaluate the musculoskeletal burdens on the upper extremities in the manufacturing industry and could also be used for tool and job design and job modifications.
Highlights
Work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (WRULDs) are a significant problem in many countries and result in critical costs, especially in manufacturing industries
Normal weight category, the body mass information index (BMI) of males reached the highest value in the normal weight category: and 20 females (10.1%) who needed to select the second handle as their optimum grip span
To compare the strength of the differences for both hands, the results revealed that the strength of the grip, lateral pinch, and palm pinch on the right hand were significantly stronger than the corresponding strengths on the left hand (p < 0.001)
Summary
Work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (WRULDs) are a significant problem in many countries and result in critical costs, especially in manufacturing industries. In Member States of European Union, the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of WRULDs is about 14%–46%, and the corresponding cost is estimated at between 0.5% to 2% of the gross National product [6]. In Taiwan, the prevalence of WRULDs in different body parts is about 5.4% (elbows among female workers) to 14.4%. The purpose of this study is to collect five types of maximum hand strength among workers in the manufacturing industry in Taiwan. Methods: This study is a cross sectional study with a stratified and convenient sample of workers on the production line in manufacturing industries in Central Taiwan. Five types of hand strength were measured in both hands three times with 3 min rests between trials
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