Abstract
BackgroundAccurate assessment of isometric hand grip strength (HGS) and isometric lower limb strength (LS) are often limited to specialized clinics due to high costs and need for specialized equipment and personnel. A mobile and user-friendly device would facilitate a wider use of these measures in the clinical setting. The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) is a novel and pragmatic tool that has been validated for measuring muscle strength and other clinically relevant physiological variables. However, reference data for HGS and LS are lacking. The purpose of the current study is to establish reference data for HGS and LS in individuals ≥20 years of age using the WBB method, and to characterize the effects of age in these measurements.MethodHealthy participants were recruited at various locations and their HGS and LS were tested by six assessors using the WBB. Reference data were analysed and presented in age-groups, while the age-related change in HGS and LS was tested and characterized with linear regression models.ResultsThree hundred and fifty-four participants between 20 and 99 years of age were tested. Data are presented separately according to gender and the following age categories: 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and 80+, and presented in absolute values as well as percentiles. The main findings were; (1) Significantly higher HGS and LS among males compared to females and for the dominant limb compared to the non-dominant limb, (2) a significant decline in strength with increasing age, and (3) the rate of decline increased significantly (i.e. it was non-linear) with age for HGS, but not for LS.ConclusionThis study reported reference data with percentiles for a novel method for assessing HGS and LS. Data were consistent with previously known effects of age and gender on HGS and LS. The presented data may supplement future trials using the WBB in research or in the clinical setting.
Highlights
Accurate assessment of isometric hand grip strength (HGS) and isometric lower limb strength (LS) are often limited to specialized clinics due to high costs and need for specialized equipment and personnel
The main findings were; (1) Significantly higher HGS and LS among males compared to females and for the dominant limb compared to the non-dominant limb, (2) a significant decline in strength with increasing age, and (3) the rate of decline increased significantly with age for HGS, but not for LS
Data were consistent with previously known effects of age and gender on HGS and LS
Summary
Accurate assessment of isometric hand grip strength (HGS) and isometric lower limb strength (LS) are often limited to specialized clinics due to high costs and need for specialized equipment and personnel. The purpose of the current study is to establish reference data for HGS and LS in individuals ≥20 years of age using the WBB method, and to characterize the effects of age in these measurements. The most common method for assessing strength in the clinical setting is isometric manual muscle testing (subjective scale from 0 to 5). Its crudeness [15] makes it unreliable for strength assessment both within and between different assessors [16] Contrary to this are hand grip- and stationary isometric/isokinetic dynamometers, which are considered the reference standards for measuring hand grip strength (HGS) and lower limb strength (LS). Most widely used is the Jamar dynamometer (JD), but the apparatus is primarily found in specialized clinics as it provides data for a single clinical parameter (HGS) and comes at a fairly high price of 200 to 1200 USD [20]
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