A Portable Hand‐Grip Dynamometer

Pearn, J. and Bullock, K. (1979). Aust. Paediatr. J., 15, 107–109. A portable hand‐grip dynamometer. A new portable handgrip dynamometer is described. The instrument employs the strain‐gauge principle and measures isometric contraction. The instrument is sensitive, covers a wide range (0.5 to 1500 Newtons), is temperature compensated, portable (battery operated), is light yet robust and has been used in the field. It is suitable for bedside clinical use, or for research procedures requiring analyses of strength‐fatigue curves. It is simple and quick to operate and has linear load‐response curves over the clinical range of hand‐grip strength. Standard test procedures are described. The instrument has been used in validation trials on 221 healthy children aged 5 to 17 years. In a two pull test for each hand (RLRL) there is no fatigue effect even for young children. A practice effect exists for the right hand only. Handedness in children is not related to the laterality of the strongest hand, either for males or females. The principle of using maximum hand‐grip strength from a four trial test (RLRL), as one index of a child's health is briefly described.