Abstract:Background: The dimensional & anatomical features of the human hand & the factors such as the size, shape, texture of objects being held etc., influence the functional aspects of hand. Hand grip strength can be quantified while performing isometric exercises on hand grip dynamometer. Many studies have been conducted among athletes, players involved in grip sports and subjects working or employed in different types of industries like garments, beedi, agarbatti, vehicle parts assembly industries and have found significant correlation between hand anthropometry & hand grip plus endurance. But data are very scant among staff working in teaching institute.
Objective: To assess the correlation of BMI and hand anthropometry with hand grip plus endurance among staff of teaching institute.
Material and Methods: 61 female subjects were selected for the study based on inclusion & exclusion criteria. Among them 35 were working as typist cum clerk and 36 were working as teaching staff. The shape of the dominant hand was drawn on a piece of paper with a thin marker so that finger spans, finger lengths, and perimeters of the hand could be measured. Handgrip strength was measured in the dominant hand using hand grip dynamometer. Descriptive statistics were used for each variable and independent t test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups. The Pearson correlation coefficient test was used to evaluate the correlation between studied variables.
Result: Many hand anthropometric parameters and BMI of both teaching and clerk/typist groups significantly correlated (p<0.05 for both), with handgrip strength and endurance but handgrip strength and endurance of teaching staff and clerk/typist were similar. Conclusion: Further researches related to the present topic are recommended as these can be used in talent identification in handgrip-related sports, design hand controlled products like remote control, mouse, key board and may be useful for ergo-design applications and in clinical settings as well.