Comparative study of millennials' (age 20-34 years) grip and lateral pinch with the norms

Abstract

Study design: Cross-sectional research design.

Introduction: Clinical practice continues to use normative data for grip and pinch measurements that were established in 1985. There is no updated norms despite different hand usage patterns in today's society.

Purpose of the study: Measuring and comparing grip and pinch strengths with normative data is a valid method to determine hand function. This research was implemented to compare the grip and pinch measurements obtained from healthy millennials to the established norms and to describe hand usage patterns for millennials.

Methods: Grip and lateral pinch measurements were obtained from a sample of 237 healthy millennials (ages 20-34 years).

Results: Strength scores were statistically lower that older normative data in all millennial grip strengths, with the exception of the women in the age group of 30-34 years. Specifically, this statistically significant trend was observed in all male grip strengths, as well as in women in the age group of 20-24 years (bilateral grip) and 25-29 years (right grip). However, the lateral pinch data reflected was similar to the older norms with variances of 0.5-1 kg.

Conclusion: Current data reflect statistically significant differences from the norms for all male grip measurements, as well as for women in the age group of 20-24 years (bilateral grip) and 25-29 years (right grip). No statistical significance was observed in the independent-sample t tests for the lateral pinch in men of all age groups. Statistical significance was noted for lateral pinch for female age groups for the left hand (20-24 years) and for bilateral lateral pinches (30-34 years).

Level of evidence: IV.

Keywords: Grip strength; Lateral pinch strength; Millennials; Normative data.