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
. 2025 Oct;194(5):1707-1716.
doi: 10.1007/s11845-025-04061-9. Epub 2025 Aug 11.

Evaluation of minimum pinch force while holding in fibromyalgia patients

Dilara Ekici Zincirci  1 , Sultan İlbeği  2 , Esin Çakır  2 , Sevgi Atar  2 , Esma Demirhan  2 , Tuğrul Aydın  3 , Kemal Sıtkı Türker  4 , İlhan Karacan  5 , Ömer Kuru  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of minimum pinch force while holding in fibromyalgia patients

Dilara Ekici Zincirci et al. Ir J Med Sci. 2025 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the minimum pinch force applied during object carrying and physical fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia. For this purpose, the study evaluated the association between the minimum and maximum pinch forces exerted while carrying a weight and both isokinetic muscle strength and the isokinetic fatigue index.

Methods: One hundred eight (54 FMS/54 healthy) women participated. Pinch force was measured with a force sensor, and wrist flexor/extensor strength and fatigue index were evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer at 180°/s.

Results: Minimum pinch force did not differ significantly between groups, but maximum pinch force was higher in healthy subjects (p = 0.011). Wrist flexor and extensor strength were substantially lower in FMS (p < 0.001 for both). Fatigue index was lower in FMS, but differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.05, p = 0.06). In FMS patients, the minimum pinch force correlated with wrist flexor and extensor fatigue, but no correlation was found in controls.

Conclusions: Our research shows that the minimum pinch force exerted by women with FMS is not different from that exerted by healthy women, but the maximum pinch force is lower. Muscle performance tests measured by isokinetic dynamometry may help assess physical fatigue in FMS patients.

Significance: Although women with FMS can match their healthy peers in minimum pinch force, their lower maximum force may be the main cause of the fatigue they experience during daily activities.

Keywords: Fatigue; Fibromyalgia; Muscle force; Pinch force.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: Our study was designed as a cross-sectional clinical trial, approved by the local ethics committee (Cemil Taşcıoğlu City Hospital ethics committee, approval code: 247) which conformed with the Declaration of Helsinki and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06825195). Disclaimer: The results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

References

    1. Mease P (2005) Fibromyalgia syndrome: review of clinical presentation, pathogenesis, outcome measures, and treatment. J Rheumatol Suppl 75:6–21 - PubMed
    1. Abeles AM, Pillinger MH, Solitar BM et al (2007) Narrative review: the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia. Ann Intern Med 146(10):726–734. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-10-200705150-00006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rehm S, Sachau J, Hellriegel J et al (2021) Pain matters for central sensitization: sensory and psychological parameters in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Pain Rep 6(1):e901. https://doi.org/10.1097/PR9.0000000000000901
    1. Bachasson D, Guinot M, Wuyam B et al (2013) Neuromuscular fatigue and exercise capacity in fibromyalgia syndrome. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 65(3):432–440. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.21845 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Humphrey L, Arbuckle R, Mease P et al (2010) Fatigue in fibromyalgia: a conceptual model informed by patient interviews. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 11:216. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-11-216 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

LinkOut - more resources