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Measuring hand grip strength in rheumatoid arthritis

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Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease with a particular predilection for causing pain, deformity and functional limitation affecting the hands. Measures of the severity of RA, such as the disease activity score with 28 joint count may not fully reflect the regional impact of RA on the hands. Hand grip strength measurements are a form of objective assessment that focuses specifically on the hands in RA. This review explores what is currently known about the assessment of hand grip strength; what it may indicate, how it is measured, some of the practical aspects and challenges associated with performing these tests, and how this information can be applied in a clinical setting. It summarises the role that grip strength has in assessing patients with RA and finishes with some recommendations for how to use grip strength measurements in clinical practice, and what direction future research might take.

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Funding

No financial support was received in the preparation of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Maidstone Hospital, Maidstone, UK

    Susie C. Higgins

  2. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Jo Adams

  3. Department of Rheumatology, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, UK

    Rodney Hughes

Authors
  1. Susie C. Higgins
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  2. Jo Adams
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  3. Rodney Hughes
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Dr SCH carried out the literature review and wrote the original article, with significant editorial input and correction by Professor JA and Dr RH.

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Higgins, S.C., Adams, J. & Hughes, R. Measuring hand grip strength in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int 38, 707–714 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-018-4024-2

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