Hand grip strength: An assessment criteria of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in Indian collegiate computer users

The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to evaluate the anthropometric profile of Indian computer students and, second, to search the correlation of hand grip strength with other anthropometric characteristics studied. Methods: Fourteen anthropometric characteristics; viz. height, sitting height, weight, BMI, knee height, thigh height, leg length, bi-trochantric diameter, waist and hip circumferences, percent body fat, percent lean body mass, hand grip strength (right dominant) and back strength were measured on purposively selected 208 Indian computer students (108 males,100 females) ages 18–25 years (mean 21.67 years, ± 1.61) collected from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India. An adequate number of non-computer users (n = 208, 108 males,100 females, mean age 21.72 years, ± 1.69) were also collected as controls from the same location for comparison. Results: One way ANOVA showed significant differences among the groups (p ≤ .001 - .000) in the variables studied, except the hip circumference, in computer students and controls. In Indian computer students, significant positive correlations (p≤ .05 - .01) were found in hand grip strength and height, sitting height, leg length, back strength (in both sexes), knee height (females only), weight, BMI, bi-trochantric diameter, waist circumference, hip circumference, % body fat and % lean body mass (males only). Conclusion: Despite the higher BMI status, Indian computer students had both lower handgrip strength and back strength than their control counterparts, possibly linked to their poor physical activity in work stations.

Key-words:

Anthropometric variables - hand grip strength - Indian computer students.

Publication History

Received: 03 April 2010

Accepted: 28 June 2010

Article published online:
23 May 2022