https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2024.13021
Hand-grip strength in recreational downhill skiers: a comparison to normative reference values
Submitted: 5 September 2024
Accepted: 27 September 2024
Published: 17 October 2024
Accepted: 27 September 2024
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Hand-grip strength was evaluated in 757 recreational downhill skiers and compared to 1021 community-dwellers. Findings are reported for age and sex categories consistent with community-dwelling norms. Effect size (Cohen's d) was calculated to estimate the clinical relevance of strength differences between populations. Most male and half of the female age categories of downhill skiers demonstrated higher grip strength of the dominant hand (moderate to large effect size) compared to the reference population. Hand-grip strength in skiers declined with age at a similar rate as in the reference population. Relative grip strength (per kg body mass) was significantly and positively correlated with physical activity (hours/week), and with the number of ski days per year, and negatively with body mass. Thus, hand-grip strength may be related to the type, volume and intensity of exercise regularly performed. These results can help to assess whether the individual hand-grip strength is above or below average with regard to the normal population and the skier population as well and will support advice for training and/or rehabilitation.
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Supporting Agencies
Austrian Ski FederationHow to Cite
Burtscher, J., Strasser, B., Ruedl, G., Pocecco, E., Menz, V., Philippe, M., Kopp, M., & Burtscher, M. (2024). Hand-grip strength in recreational downhill skiers: a comparison to normative reference values. European Journal of Translational Myology, 34(4). https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2024.13021
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