Abstract
Previous studies have reported the presence of muscle weakness in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) which is considered a risk factor for developing earlier disability and dependence during activities of daily life (ADL). We aimed to assess the relationship between hand grip force with sociodemographic, clinical, disease-specific, cognitive, and physical function variables in women with FMS. One hundred twenty-six women with FMS completed demographic (age, gender, height, weight, body mass index), pain-related (pain history, pain intensity at rest and during ADL), disease-specific severity (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire -FIQ-S-, Fibromyalgia Health Assessment Questionnaire -FHAQ-, EuroQol-5D, Pain Catastrophizing Scale -PCS-, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-PSQI-, Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire -PVAQ-, and Central Sensitization Inventory -CSI-), psychological (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, TKS-11; Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire, PVAQ; Pain Catastrophizing Scale, PCS), and physical function (hand grip force, and Timed Up and Go Test, TUG). Hand grip force was associated with height (r = −0.273), BMI (r = 0.265), worst pain at rest (r = −0.228), pain during ADL (r = −0.244), TUG (r = −0.406), FHAQ (r = −0.386), EuroQol-5D (r = 0.353), CSI (r = −0.321) and PSQI (r = −0.250). The stepwise regression analysis revealed that 34.4% of hand grip force was explained by weight (6.4%), TUG (22.2%), and FHAQ (5.8%) variables. This study found that hand grip force is associated with physical function indicators, but not with fear-avoidance behaviors nor pain-related features of FMS. Hand grip force could be considered as an easy tool for identifying the risk of fall and poorer physical health status.
Highlights
Blood circulation, disturbances in regulation of growth and energy metabolism, altered neuromuscular control mechanisms associated with pain and decreased levels of physical activity associated with fear avoidance behaviors, pain, and o verweight[13,14]
The aims of the current study were to analyze the correlation between demographic, pain-related, disease-specific, psychological, physical function measures and hand grip force and to develop a linear regression model to analyze factors explaining the variance of hand grip force in women with Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) (Fig. 1)
Hand grip force was negatively associated with the worst pain, Pittsburgh Sleeping Quality index (PSQI), mean pain during ADL, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Fibromyalgia Health Assessment Questionnaire (FHAQ) and Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) (p < 0.01) and positively associated with BMI (p < 0.05), height and EuroQol-5D (p < 0.01)
Summary
Blood circulation, disturbances in regulation of growth and energy metabolism, altered neuromuscular control mechanisms associated with pain and decreased levels of physical activity associated with fear avoidance behaviors, pain, and o verweight[13,14]. The Hand Grip Force is a reliable, simple, and noninvasive test assessing the strength of the hand muscles used to grasp or grip[15,16]. This test is considered as a valid indicator to identify frailty and risk of disability among elderly people as is associated with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and with mortality[17]. Reduced hand grip force has been associated with worse severity[19,20], higher related-disability[21], lower pulmonary muscle strength[22], and worse health-related quality of life[23] in women with FMS. An association between physical capacity, including hand grip force, with fear avoidance beliefs has been suggested in F MS13 and in other pain conditions, e.g., low back pain[26]. The aims of the current study were to analyze the correlation between demographic, pain-related, disease-specific, psychological, physical function measures and hand grip force and to develop a linear regression model to analyze factors explaining the variance of hand grip force in women with FMS (Fig. 1)
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