The Isometric And Eccentric Grip Strength In Athletes And Controls.

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare the characteristics of eccentric grip strength among athletes, elite climbers, and normal healthy subjects. METHODS: A total of 17 male subjects, including 8 athletes (age, 23.3 ± 3.1 years; height, 173.7 ± 3.6 cm; weight 71.4 ± 5.6 kg), 3 elite climbers (age, 19.3 ± 1.2 years; height, 162.8 ± 4.3 cm; weight 58.3 ± 3.1 kg), and 6male healthy control subjects (age, 26.0 ± 5.8 years; height, 172.3 ± 3.3 cm; weight, 64.0 ± 7.0 kg), participated in this study. They performed two maximal voluntary contraction tests (i.e., isometric [ISO], and eccentric [ECC] contraction) using a handgrip dynamometer (Takei, Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) and original device utilized an AC servo motor (60 W class) to generate eccentric force at a constant speed of 32.67 mm/s. These tests were performed using the right hand. The values were calculated relative to body mass. RESULTS: ECC grip strength relative to body mass in athletes was higher than that in control subjects (p = 0.02, 1.15 ± 0.2 kg vs. 0.90 ± 0.2 kg). In particular, elite climbers showed higher ECC grip strength compared to athletes and control subjects (1.35 ± 0.1 kg, 1.08 ± 0.1 kg, and 0.88 ± 0.2 kg, respectively). There was no significant difference in ISO grip strength between athletes and control subjects. However, ISO grip strength relative to body mass in climbers was higher than those in athletes and control subjects (0.82 ± 0.1 kg, 0.69 ± 0.1 kg, and 0.67 ± 0.1 kg, respectively). The effect sizes of ECC and ISO grip strength relative to body mass between athletes and control subjects were 1.5 and 0.5, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that eccentric grip strength might be more effectively manifested in athletes rather than isometric grip strength, especially in climbers.