Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparing handgrip strength between judokas and non-judokas using population-based normative values

  • Research
  • Published:
Sport Sciences for Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Recently, a novel index (HGSindex) was proposed to compare the handgrip strength (HGS) within and between judokas and non-judokas considering the body mass (BM). However, some studies consider body height (BH) as the most appropriate parameter. So, the aims of the present study were as follows: (1) determine which variable (BM or BH) provides a better normalization of the HGS in groups of judokas and non-judokas and (2) evaluate the HGS of these groups using the HGSindex based on normative values.

Method

Participants were 84 male judoka (JM), 25 female judoka (JF), and 44 nonathlete males (NA). Using allometry, the HGS was normalized and the HGSindex was calculated. Statistical tests evaluated correlations, means, and effect sizes.

Results

The results showed that JM and NA groups exhibited stronger HGS compared to nonathletes expected values, while the JF group showed similar performance. BM and BH were suitable variables for HGS normalization, even if BH did not significantly correlate with HGS in the JF group. Furthermore, normalizing HGS for BM removed the BH effect, but not vice versa. Individual HGSindex varied within the groups, ranging from superior to inferior. On average, the JM group had superior performance (HGSindex = 19.32%), while the JF (HGSindex = 6.19%) and NA (HGSindex = 13.61%) groups were classified as mean superior.

Conclusion

The BM seems to be the best variable to normalize the HGS of the participants. The HGSindex proved to be a suitable tool, allowing for comparisons between groups that would not be possible with traditional allometric technique.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BM:

Body mass

BH:

Body height

HGS:

Handgrip strength

HGSindex:

Handgrip strength index

References

  1. Dodds RM, Syddall HE, Cooper R, Kuh D, Cooper C, Sayer AA (2016) Global variation in grip strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis of normative data. Age Ageing 45:209–216. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afv192

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Amaral CA, Amaral TLM, Monteiro GTR, Vasconcellos MTL, Portela MC (2019) Hand grip strength: reference values for adults and elderly people of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. PLoS One 14:e0211452. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211452

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Dias JA, Ovando AC, Külkamp W, Borges Junior NG (2010) Hand grip strength: evaluation methods and factors influencing this measure. Rev Bras Cineantropom Desempenho Hum 12:209–216

    Google Scholar 

  4. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Carmeli E, Coleman R, Ring H (2004) Handgrip strength as a diagnostic tool in work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in women. ScientificWorldJ 4:111–117. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2004.12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Tyler H, Adams J, Ellis B (2005) What can handgrip strength tell the therapist about hand function? Brit J Hand Ther 10(1):4–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/175899830501000101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Norman K, Stobäus N, Gonzalez MC, Schulzke JD, Pirlich M (2011) Hand grip strength: outcome predictor and marker of nutritional status. Clin Nutr 30:135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2010.09.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Celis-Morales CA, Welsh P, Lyall DM et al (2018) Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. BMJ 361:k1651. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1651

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Arvandi M, Strasser B, Meisinger C et al (2016) Gender differences in the association between grip strength and mortality in older adults: results from the KORA-age study. BMC Geriatr 16:201. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-016-0381-4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Kim J (2021) Handgrip strength to predict the risk of all-cause and premature mortality in Korean adults: a 10-year cohort study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(1):39. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010039

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Geraldes AA, De Oliveira ARM, Albuquerque RB, de Carvalho JM, Farinatti PTV (2008) The hand-grip forecasts the functional performance of fragile elder subjects: a multiple-correlation study. Rev Bras Med Esporte 14:12–16. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922008000100002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Külkamp W, Ache-Dias J, Dal Pupo J (2022) Handgrip strength adjusted for body mass and stratified by age and sex: normative data for healthy Brazilian adults based on a systematic review. Sport Sci Health 18:1149–1160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-00916-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fernandes AA, Natali AJ, Vieira BC, do Valle MAAN, Moreira DG, Massy-Westropp N, Marins JCB (2014) The relationship between hand grip strength and anthropometric parameters in men. Arch Med Deporte 31:160–164

    Google Scholar 

  13. Schlüssel MM, dos Anjos LA, de Vasconcellos MT, Kac G (2008) Reference values of handgrip dynamometry of healthy adults: a population-based study. Clin Nutr 27:601–607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2008.04.004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Caporrino FA, Faloppa F, Santos JBGD, Réssio C, Soares FHDC, Nakachima LR, Segre NG (1998) Population study of grip force with Jamar dynamometer. Rev Bras Ortop 33:150–154

    Google Scholar 

  15. Lera L, Albala C, Leyton B, Márquez C, Angel B, Saguez R, Sánchez H (2018) Reference values of hand-grip dynamometry and the relationship between low strength and mortality in older Chileans. Clin Interv Aging 13:317–324. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S152946

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Steiber N (2016) Strong or weak handgrip? Normative reference values for the German population across the life course stratified by sex, age, and body height. PLoS ONE 11:e0163917. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163917

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Bohannon RW, Peolsson A, Massy-Westropp N, Desrosiers J, Bear-Lehman J (2006) Reference values for adult grip strength measured with a Jamar dynamometer: a descriptive meta-analysis. Physiotherapy 92:11–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2005.05.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Soer R, van der Schans CP, Geertzen JH, Groothoff JW, Brouwer S, Dijkstra PU, Reneman MF (2009) Normative values for a functional capacity evaluation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 90:1785–1794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2009.05.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Case J, McGorry R, Dempsey P (2002) Getting a grip on grip force estimates: a valuable tool for ergonomic evaluation. Prof Saf 47:18–24

    Google Scholar 

  20. Cronin J, Lawton T, Harris N, Kilding A, McMaster DT (2017) A brief review of handgrip strength and sport performance. J Strength Cond Res 31:3187–3217. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002149

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Külkamp W, Ache-Dias J, Kons RL, Detanico D, Dal Pupo J (2020) The ratio standard is not adequate for scaling handgrip strength in judo athletes and nonathletes. J Exerc Rehabil 16:175–182. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.2040108.054

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Franchini E, Schwartz J, Takito MY (2018) Maximal isometric handgrip strength: comparison between weight categories and classificatory table for adult judo athletes. J Exerc Rehabil 4:968–973. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.1836396.198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Baeyens JP, Bauer JM, Boirie Y, Cederholm T, Landi F, Martin FC, Michel JP, Rolland Y, Schneider SM, Topinková E, Vandewoude M, Zamboni M (2010) Sarcopenia: European consensus on definition and diagnosis: Report of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. Age Ageing 39:412–423. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afq034

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Petermann-Rocha F, Balntzi V, Gray SR, Lara J, Ho FK, Pell JP, Celis-Morales C (2022) Global prevalence of sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 13:86–99. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcsm.12783

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Nevill AM, Bate S, Holder RL (2005) Modeling physiological and anthropometric variables known to vary with body size and other confounding variables. Am J Phys Anthropol 41:141–153. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Markovic G, Jaric S (2004) Movement performance and body size: the relationship for different groups of tests. Eur J Appl Physiol 92:139–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1076-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Vanderburgh PM, Mahar MT, Chou CH (1995) Allometric scaling of grip strength by body mass in college-age men and women. Res Q Exerc Sport 66:80–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1995.10607658

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Kasović M, Sagat P, Kalčik Z, Štefan L, Hubinák A, Krška P (2023) Allometric normalization of handgrip strength in older adults: Which body size parameter is the most appropriate? BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 15:18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-023-00628-0

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Maranhao GAN, Oliveira AJ, de MeloPedreiro RC, Pereira-Junior PP, Machado S, Neto SM, Farinatti PT (2017) Normalizing handgrip strength in older adults: an allometric approach. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 70:230–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2017.02.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. West GB, Brown JH (2005) The origin of allometric scaling laws in biology from genomes to ecosystems: towards a quantitative unifying theory of biological structure and organization. J Exp Biol 208:1575–1592. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01589

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Jaric S (2002) Muscle strength testing: use of normalisation for body size. Sports Med 32:615–631. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200232100-00002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Nevill AM, Tomkinson GR, Lang JJ, Wutz W, Myers TD (2022) How should adult handgrip strength be normalized? Allometry reveals new insights and associated reference curves. Med Sci Sports Exerc 54:162–168. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002771

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Dias A, Wentz M, Külkamp W, Mattos D, Goethel M, Borges Júnior N (2012) Is the handgrip strength performance better in judokas than in non-judokas? Sci Sports 27:e9–e14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scispo.2011.10.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Kons RL, Dal Pupo J, Ache-Dias J, Detanico D (2018) Female judo athletes’ physical test performances are unrelated to technical-tactical competition skills. Percept Mot Skills 125:802–816. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512518777586

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Batterham AM, George KP (1997) Allometric modeling does not determine a dimensionless power function ratio for maximal muscular function. J Appl Physiol 83:2158–2166. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1997.83.6.2158

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Madaleno FO, Verhagen E, Ferreira TV, Ribeiro T, Ocarino JM, Resende RA (2021) Normative reference values for handgrip strength, shoulder and ankle range of motion and upper-limb and lower limb stability for 137 youth judokas of both sexes. J Sci Med Sport 24:41–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2020.06.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Landis JR, Koch GG (1977) The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics 33(1):159–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Routledge, New York

Download references

Funding

This research did not receive any grant or financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Instrumentation, Health and Sports Sciences Center, Santa Catarina State University, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Wladymir Külkamp

  2. Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Federal University of Bahia, Bahia, Brazil

    Rafael Lima Kons & Raiane Carvalho

  3. Department of Physiotherapy, Health and Sport Sciences Center, Santa Catarina State University, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Jaqueline de Souza & Deborah Hizume-Kunzler

  4. Research Group on Technology, Sport and Rehabilitation, Catarinense Federal Institute, Araquari, Brazil

    Jonathan Ache-Dias

  5. Biomechanics Laboratory, Center of Sports, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Juliano Dal Pupo & Daniele Detanico

Authors
  1. Wladymir Külkamp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rafael Lima Kons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jaqueline de Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Deborah Hizume-Kunzler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jonathan Ache-Dias
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Raiane Carvalho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Juliano Dal Pupo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Daniele Detanico
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

WK was responsible for conception, design, text writing, data analysis and interpretation, and statistical analysis. RLK was responsible for conception, design, data collection, and text writing. JS, DHK, and JAD were responsible for design, text writing, and statistical analysis. RC was responsible for design, text writing, and data collection. JDP and DD were responsible for data collection, data analysis, and critical revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Ache-Dias.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Külkamp, W., Kons, R.L., de Souza, J. et al. Comparing handgrip strength between judokas and non-judokas using population-based normative values. Sport Sci Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-023-01151-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-023-01151-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation