Abstract
Handgrip strength is an important determinant of general health. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the handgrip strength levels in adolescents in terms of sports participation. The second purpose is to determine the association between handgrip strength and other strength parameters. Physically active adolescent athletes (n = 31, 14.26 ± 0.68 years), and the age, pubertal stage and gender-matched non-athlete adolescents (n = 31, 14.21 ± 0.66 years) at the age of 13 to 15 participated in the study. Maximum isometric muscle strength for hand, leg, and back were measured with a handheld dynamometer. Handgrip strength was correlated with leg strength and back strength (r=0.675; r=0.698, respectively). Non-athletes had lower strength values compared to the athletes (98.48 ± 38.25 kg vs 82.94 ± 33.70 kg; 91.48 ± 35.23 kg vs 70.35 ± 25.81 kg; 30.53 ± 7.05 kg; 25.97 ± 5.98 kg for leg, back and handgrip strength, respectively). There was a positive correlation between handgrip strength and other strength parameters in adolescents. Therefore, handgrip strength can be used as a general strength indicator in adolescents. Sports participation in adolescents seems to increase strength parameters notably and may affect health correlatively.
Highlights
Muscle strength, which increases during growth, is one of the most important elements of physical fitness and health
It is aimed to investigate the relationship between leg, back and handgrip strength, which are most preferred methods in strength measurements
It is aimed to investigate the relationship between leg, back and handgrip strength, and to determine whether grip strength is a predictor for total muscle strength in adolescents
Summary
Muscle strength, which increases during growth, is one of the most important elements of physical fitness and health. Muscle strength varies depending on age and gender. Concomitant development of muscle mass and muscle fiber size, the strength of children increases throughout the maturity. Muscle strength is largely associated with height and body mass (Jaric, 2002; Markovic & Jaric, 2004). Muscle mass may be higher in boys than in girls because of their height and body mass advantage. The underlying reason for this case might be the hormonal differences such as increased testosterone in adolescent males. Higher muscle mass might lead to higher muscle strength. Another reason for gender-related differences, during adolescence, may be the changes in the body due to increased total fat percentage of girls. It has been reported that males are stronger than girls in all age categories, especially after puberty (Wind, Takken, Helders, & Engelbert, 2010)
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