Normative data on select joint range of motion and grip strength of elderly males and females

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to report normative values of the amplitude of joint wrist motions and grip strength in older age groups. Volunteers, (N=147) were divided into four age groups, 60-69, 70-79,80-89 and 90+ years, with 62 men and 85 women. In this study, three joint motion measurements of the dominant hand were obtained from each subject: In addition, grip strength measures were obtained for each subject. In general, the strength and ROM scores for the elderly in the present study (90+):were consistently lower than those of younger adults (25-54), as reported in previous studies. Furthermore, as expected, males were significantly stronger than females. However, females tended to have greater ROM than the males, particularly for wrist extension and ulnar deviation. Joint ROM and Grip strength declined significantly with age for both males and females. This implies that the aging population with reduced strength and ROM may be at a higher risk of injury for cumulative trauma disorders. In addition, this data may be useful in the design of equipment such as computer input devices for older adults.