The purpose of this study was to establish British normative data for adults aged 15 to 92 years, using four different hand grips. A Jamar® dynamometer was used to measure power grip and a B+L hydraulic pinch gauge to measure tip, tripod and lateral grips. A sample of 130 men and 130 women from the Cambridgeshire area was tested, using standardised positioning and instructions.
The results showed that male grip strength was stronger than female grip strength in all hand grips. In both men and women, power grip peaked between the ages of 15 and 49 years and declined gradually after the age of 50 years. Tip, tripod and lateral pinch grips did not decline noticeably until after the age of 70 years in women and, although there was a gradual decline in male tripod and lateral pinch grips after 65 years, male tip pinch grip showed no noticeable decline related to age. Normative data collected in this study were lower than norms reported in American studies.
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