Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec;13(2):84-8.

NORMAL VALUES OF KEY PINCH STRENGTH IN A HEALTHY NIGERIAN POPULATION

A I Michael  1 , A O Iyun  2 , O A Olawoye  2 , S A Ademola  2 , R E Nnabuko  3 , O M Oluwatosin  2
Affiliations

NORMAL VALUES OF KEY PINCH STRENGTH IN A HEALTHY NIGERIAN POPULATION

A I Michael et al. Ann Ib Postgrad Med. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Background: With the severity of machine hand injuries in our environment, the need to determine the normal values for key pinch strength with which to compare restorative surgeries was justified.

Method: A cross sectional survey of participants who had no previous hand injuries limiting hand function. Data obtained included age, gender, body mass index, hand dominance and hand span. The Baseline Hydraulic Pinch Gauge was used to obtain key pinch strength. The influence of the above variables on measured pinch strength was analyzed using independent sample t-tests and Pearson's correlation.

Results: Of the 242 recruited participants, age range between 20 and 80 years, 163(67.4%) were male and 79 (32.6%) were female. Males had higher pinch strength (right-8.3±2.7kg, left-7.6±2.5kg) than females (right-6.3±1.5kg, left- 5.8±1.5kg). Pinch strength varied with age peaking in the fifth decade in males and females. Interestingly, the left handed dominant female had higher right pinch strength than her right handed counterpart (p<0.009). Height, and hand span correlated with pinch strength in females.

Conclusion: Normal values for key pinch strength in this Nigerian population are lower than that of Caucasians.

Keywords: Key pinch; Nigerians; Normal values..

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Box plot showing variation of age with mean right key pinch strength in males and females
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Box plot showing variation of age with mean left key pinch strength in males and females
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Smaby N, Johanson ME, Baker B, et al. Identification of key pinch forces required to complete functional tasks. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2004;41:215–224. - PubMed
    1. Dias JJ, Bhowal B, Wildin CJ, Thompson JR. Carpal tunnel decompression. Is lengthening of the flexor retinaculum better than simple division? J Hand Surg Br. 2004;29:271–276. - PubMed
    1. Koch H, Bruckmann L, Hubmer M, Scharnagl E. Extended reverse dorsal metacarpal artery flap: clinical experience and donor site morbidity. Jr Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2007;60:349–355. - PubMed
    1. Angst F, Drerup S, Werle S, et al. Prediction grip and pinch strength in 978 healthy subjects. BMC Musculoskelet disord. 2010;11:94. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gunther CM, Burger A, Rickert M, Schultz CU. Key Pinch in Healthy Adults: Normative values. J Hand Surg Eur. 2009;33:144–148. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources