THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HAND DIMENSIONS AND HAND GRIP STRENGTH AMONG UNIVERSITY TENNIS PLAYERS A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Handgrip strength is a measurement of upper extremity functionality and an indicator of overall physical ability. Usually, the evaluation of the handgrip strength (HGS) is utilized in the clinic and occupational practice, performing an important role in the determination of the clinical effects. Hand-grip strength has been identified as a biomarker of other systems, such as the endocrine system.

Objective:  The objective is to assess the relationship between hand grip strength and hand dimensions in university tennis players.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 153 university students using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. The data was collected from the University of Lahore, Punjab University, and the University of Central Punjab. The questionnaire contains demographic data age, height, weight, BMI, lifestyle, hand dimensions by anthropometric measurements, and grip strength by dynamometer will be used to collect data.

Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 21.73±1.97 years. The minimum age was 19 years, and the maximum age was 25 years. Out of 153 university tennis players (52.9%) were male and (47.1%) were females The result shows that 13.2% of students were underweight and 70.6% were normal weight according to their BMI. 51.5% of females performed exercise twice a week and 25.0% performed more than three times a week with a value of r (r=0.27-r=0.86)

Conclusion: There is a strong significant association between hand dimensions (finger span, finger length, and hand perimeter) and hand grip strength. As the value of hand dimensions increases the hand grip strength also increases.

Key Words: Hand grip strength, hand dimensions, dynamometer, Body mass index, little finger length, Thumb length