Do you find carrying those heavy bags of groceries difficult? Can you open a jar of honey with ease? If you answer 'Yes' and 'No', your body may be indicating some underlying disease condition.
Researchers say the amount of force we can muster with our hands is a good representation of how healthy our body is. The Hand Grip Strength (HGS) represents the total body strength, which is a good measure of healthy ageing and overall physical capabilities, and needs to be checked by doctors with other vitals like blood pressure and weight. Low Hand Grip Strength signifies fast ageing in cells hence increased the risk of diseases.
What Does the Research Say?
The recently published, 'Hand Grip Strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: a narrative review' published in the Journal of Health, population and Nutrition emphasis the same.
The India-based researchers also say several diseases like Diabetes have shown a correlation with low HGS, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney and liver disease, some cancers, sarcopenia and fragility fractures, have shown a correlation with low HSG. The low HSG is also associated with increased hospitalisation, nutritional status, overall mortality and overall quality of life.
A New Vital Sign
This study suggests that HGS could be proposed as a new vital sign, offering valuable insights for clinical practice and public health. The study also calls HGS stands as an important biomarker of health. The utility extends to the identification of diverse health issues and its potential as a new vital sign throughout the lifespan.
Strength as Health Predictor
“There have been four vital signs to evaluate the health of a person-like measuring blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respiration. These were basic but very important indicators tested for centuries. Now some new vitals are also considered important like blood sugar measurement, since covid happened, we have included oxygen saturation as well but now many researchers are now looking at strength as a predictor of positive health and weakness as a predictor of negative health outcome,”' said Dr Raju VAishya, Senior orthopaedic Surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo, who is also the lead author of the study.
Corelation with Geriatry
“To access muscle frailty is to access the ageing process. We have no investigation so far how well a person is ageing-whether fast, slow, or optimal. So the muscle strength has been shown to be an indicator of this ageing process and quantity and correlate the muscle strength to various diseases,'' he added. So weak muscle strength means you're essentially at higher risk for what are traditionally considered age-related chronic conditions.
What is Hand Grip Strength and the Science Behind it?
Hand Grip Strength measures how firmly and with how much stability you can grip heavy items. It is measured by a simple hand held device called Jamar dynamometer.
Muscle is one of the vital organs of the body. In most health narratives, fat has been in the forefront and people have forgotten the muscle. However muscle is equally important, if muscle is strong it counterbalances the issue of excess fat and problems associated with it. Muscle is a major metabolic organ, it involves glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism.
Muscle Strength
“If the muscle is weak people have more chances of getting diabetes, heart diseases, cancers, infections, hospitalisations, delayed recovery. Checking the health of the muscles needs to be given due importance,” says Dr Anoop Misra, Executive Chairman and Director, Diabetes and Endocrinology at Fortis C Doc in Delhi. Misra is one of the authors of the study.
He says in the Indian population, “weak muscle alone is an indicator of diabetes”. Misra says in recent times, it has been observed that patients with low HGS have lasting post Covid symptoms. Vaishya says sarcopenia-ageing of muscles and osteoporosis (weakening of bones) also go hand in hand.
Way Forward
In the last one decade, researchers from across the world are studying the muscles. The muscle studies can be done by studying the bulk of muscles in a human body, or study the functions and power, Misra says measuring Hand grip strength is the easiest and most cost effective way. “In the world of testing, HGS is limited to research but it is easy to do in our everyday clinical assessment and should be included as a vital sign.”
Both experts say, HGS test can be a very useful component of disease prevention. By including HGS as a vital sign, healthcare practitioners can identify potential health issues at an earlier stage, enabling timely interventions and improved patient outcomes. “The fact that the test is non-invasive and does not involve any blood tests makes it easier to do,” Misra adds. He says his centre is undertaking a large study to assess HGS and correlation to diseases.
