Affiliations: [a] Hartford Hospital, West Hartford, CT, USA. School of
Allied Health, University of Connecticut, CT USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Richard W Bohannon, EdD, PT, NCS,
Physical Therapy Consultants, 130 Middlebrook Road, West Hartford, CT 06119,
USA. Tel.: +1 860 233 1033; Fax: +1 860 233 0609; E-mail:
ptconsultant@comcast.net
Abstract: This study examined the adequacy of hand-grip dynamometry for
characterizing upper limb strength after stroke. It involved the secondary
analysis of data from 26 patients (age = 71.1 ± 11.7 yr) hospitalized
for acute stroke. Primary data were bilateral measurements of grip strength
obtained with a Jamar dynamometer and elbow flexion and shoulder abduction
strength obtained with a MicroFET 2 dynamometer. Adequacy was characterized by
the relationship between grip, elbow flexion, and shoulder abduction strengths.
Correlations between measurements from the same limb were high and significant
(p < 0.05) on both the weak (r = 0.753–0.937) and strong (r =
0.735–0.876) sides. Factor analysis distinguished two strength
components: weak side (loadings = 0.910–0.982) and strong side (loadings
= 0.912–0.965). Cronbach's alphas were 0.840 and.844 for the weak and
strong sides, respectively. Although any of the dynamometrically measured
actions are adequate for characterizing strength of either side after stroke,
simplicity of hand-grip dynamometry upholds its utilization.
