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grip training

The multi-functional nature of how we can use our grip allows us to shape the world around us in a manner not experienced by other species. In this way, we can view our grip as the foundation of all tasks that we utilize our upper extremities. This includes fine motor skills such as writing, turning a key, and dressing, along with gross skills such as lifting, carrying, hanging, and throwing. With this understanding, it can be rationally postulated that the demonstration of poor grip strength is likely associated with general disuse or invariable use of the body.

grip strength and longevity

  • A study by Rantanen and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that high midlife grip strength was highly predictive of functional limitations and disability 25 years later, with the risk of self-care disability being more than twice as great in the lowest versus highest grip strength performers.

  • Grip strength was measured using a hand dynamometer in nearly 140,000 adults in 17 countries, as part of the international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. During a four-year follow-up, the authors found that grip strength was inversely associated with all-cause mortality and a stronger predictor of mortality than that of systolic blood pressure.

  • A systematic review and meta-analysis done by Cooper, Kuh, and Hardy in the British Medical Journal investigated the associations between individual objective measures of physical capability and mortality. Once again, the researchers found consistent evidence for associations between grip strength and mortality, with those with worse grip strength numbers having a greater risk of early death.

References:

  • Rantanen, T., Guralnik, J. M., Foley, D., Leveille, S., Curb, J. D., & White, L. (1999). Midlife Hand Grip Strength as a Predictor of Old Age Disability. Jama, 281(6), 558. doi:10.1001/ jama.281.6.558

  • Leong, D. P., Teo, K. K., Rangarajan, S., Lopez-Jaramillo, P., Avezum, A., Orlandini, A.,.Yusuf, S. (2015). Prognostic value of grip strength: Findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet, 386(9990), 266-273. doi:10.1016/s0140- 6736(14)62000-6

  • Cooper, R., Kuh, D., Hardy, R., & Group, M. R. (2010). Objectively measured physical capability levels and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, 341(sep09 1), c4467–c4467. doi: 10.1136/bmj.c4467