A Comparative Study of Adjustability of Grasping Force between Young People and Elderly Individuals

Abstract

: Purpose: This study aimed to compare adjustability of grasping force (AGF) between people belonging to young and elderly age-groups. Methods: Twenty young people and 20 elderly people, with no previous pathology involving the hands and fingers, were included in the study, and an AGF assessment was performed for all the subjects using an iWakka. Subjects adjusted the grasping force according to the target value displayed on the monitor by opening or closing the iWakka. Results: The assessment of AGF was performed separately from that of the gripping force, and the latter was found to be comparable between the two groups. The mean AGF was found to be 8.9 ± 4.0 g and 7.6 ± 2.8 g for the dominant and the non-dominant hand, respectively, in the elderly group, as compared to the mean AGF for the dominant and the non-dominant hand of 4.4 ± 1.2 g and 4.4 ± 0.6 g, respectively estimated in the young age-group. A t-test conducted after controlling the disparate factors (sex, handedness, gripping force) between the subjects of the two groups, showed that there was a significant difference in AGF between the young and the elderly groups for both the dominant ( p = 0.03) and the non-dominant hand ( p = 0.02), indicating that the AGF of the elderly people was significantly lower than that of the young study-subjects. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that AGF decreases with aging and that it is necessary to assess AGF separately from the gripping force, to make a precise comparison.