Hand Grip Strength as a Predictor of Health

Let’s talk about longevity and small ways to predict how you’re doing. Aging is a biological process that is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be a steady decline! It’s important to keep yourself moving and strong as you age to remain independent. Taking a look at your strength, balance, and mobility can help you understand how you are doing now, but can also help predict how you will do functionally in the future.

There are two quick ways to test your current strength status. One way is to check your grip strength and another is to check your leg strength. In this article we will talk about grip strength, later we will focus on leg strength.

Hand grip strength is repeatedly shown in many studies to have a correlation to certain diseases, reduced quality of life and increased hospitalization as we age (1). It is inversely related to mortality (2). Poor grip strength is a better predictor than blood pressure of premature death! It can also be used as a predictor of sarcopenia and frailty. Saracopenia is muscle loss that occurs with aging. Frailty refers to the medical condition created by reduced strength and health which can lead to falls, fractures, hospitalization and poorer recovery when injured or sick. Low hand grip strength scores could predict issues 25 years later in life (1) demonstrating how important it is in middle age to maintain strength.

Grip strength is tested by a hand dynamometer. The device can be found in Physical Therapy clinics and in some gyms. There are economical versions available for sale for use at home. Each dynamometer has a protocol, so make sure to read the instructions and use it correctly. It should also come with a chart so you can determine if your results fall in a healthy range. Those put through extensive testing, like the JAMAR brand have created norms for ages by men and women. There is a set cut of level that will indicate the prediction of poor health. Cut off levels for men are <26 kg and women are <16kg. You want to stay above that level to stay healthy!

Why is grip strength such an indicator? Think about daily activities you do, constantly using your hands, carrying items, driving, lifting, pinching, squeezing. Good grip strength indicates you are active and using your body. If your scores are not at the level you’d like them to be there are ways to improve it. But squeezing a stress ball is not enough! Depending on your current level of fitness and if you have any medical issues that may cause weak grip strength (like arthritis or carpal tunnel) you can start slowly using thera putty to do full grip squeeze, pinching, rolling and pulling exercises. Thera putty comes in different colors that correlate to tensile strength. Start with yellow as the easiest. Add in towel wringing and wrist exercises with light weights. Band exercises for your shoulders actually work on grip strength as you hold the bands. Farmers carry is an excellent way to work on grip strength and also full body strength as you carry a heavy weight while walking. For higher level work out ideas try dead hangs and pull ups. There are many ways to modify exercises that work on grip strength depending on what level you are at!

It’s never too late to begin. Even though starting younger can have the best effect, not working on grip strength if you are older can have an even worse effect. It’s important to keep using your body to remain strong and healthy overall as you age.

1. Vaishya, R., Misra, A., Vaish, A. et al. Hand grip strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: a narrative review of evidences. J Health Popul Nutr 43, 7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-024-00500-y

2. Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Leong, Darryl P et al. The Lancet, Volume 386, Issue 9990, 266 - 273