Normative data for the Baseline® 5 position hydraulic pinch meter and the relationship between lateral pinch strength and pinch span

Reference data for the hand grip and palmar pinch force sense errors and the relationship between school-entry-age in young adults

BACKGROUND

Hands execute intricate tasks vital for everyday life and professions such as cooking, tailoring, and craftsmanship.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to establish reference data for hand grip and palmar pinch force sense in young adults, accounting for gender differences, and to determine the correlation between these data and school-entry ages.

METHODS

The cross-sectional observational study comprised 284 participants (156 females and 128 males). Demographic details, including age, gender, weight, and height, were recorded. Participant ages ranged from 18 to 29, representing the youth workforce population as defined by the International Labour Organization. Factors like hand dominance and school-entry age were ascertained based on participants' self-reports. Hand grip and palmar pinch force senses were separately assessed in the dominant and non-dominant hands of 130 randomly chosen participants to evaluate test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

Hand grip (dominant: p < 0.001, non-dominant: p = 0.002) and palmar pinch force sense errors were significantly lower in male participants compared to females. Palmar pinch force sense error for the dominant hand was reduced in males (p = 0.002), but no significant disparity existed between genders for the non-dominant hand (p = 0.222). Healthy adults who began school at age five or earlier exhibited a decreased force sense error rate (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Force sense error reference values vary based on gender and school-entry age. This reference data will aid rehabilitation specialists working with young adults in physiotherapy and occupational therapy fields in identifying potential impairments.

The effect of pinch span on pinch force sense in healthy participants

The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate the effect of pinch span on the perception of pinch force in typical participants. The healthy participants (10 males and 10 females) conducted an ipsilateral force reproduction test with three distinct pinch spans (2, 4, and 6 cm) at three distinct forces of 10%, 30%, and 50% maximum voluntary isometric contraction. The findings revealed a significantly greater consistency (lower variable error (VE)) of 4 cm compared with 2 and 6 cm pinch spans. Our study also showed that the participants might use a larger force (more overestimated) output for larger pinch spans (4 and 6 cm) than small pinch spans (2 cm). These results may offer significant insights into the higher rates of musculoskeletal disorders among females, enabling researchers and clinicians to design novel interventions and tools to improve pinch force perception and reduce hand injury rates in males and females.