PT Inquest 418: Grip Strength As a Biomarker
Oct 14, 2025
Explore the intriguing role of grip strength as a crucial health indicator for older adults. The hosts debate its correlation with various health outcomes and question whether it serves as a direct cause or a mere proxy for overall wellness. They discuss practical applications in clinical settings, emphasizing when and how to measure this strength effectively. From grip training's potential impact on hypertension to sharing real-life rehab stories, the conversation is both informative and entertaining.
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Grip Strength As A Proxy For Health
- Grip strength is a simple proxy for overall health and correlates with many outcomes but is not a causal driver.
- Low grip likely flags poor habits or illness rather than being the mechanism causing worse outcomes.
Watch Absolute Cutoffs Versus Relative Strength
- Absolute cutoffs (≈30 kg men, ≈20 kg women) are used as risk thresholds but ignore body size.
- Normalizing grip to body mass yields fairer comparisons across individuals.
Use Simple Standardized Grip Testing
- Use grip dynamometry because the test is quick, simple, and robust to small procedural differences.
- Instruct patients to squeeze maximally and you can aggregate heterogeneous studies reliably.