Physical Attributes and Activities as they apply to Grip Strength — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Physical Attributes and Activities as they apply to Grip Strength

Name: Gretchen Heidorn
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Rochester, MN
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Abstract

The lack of hand strength has been shown to have a direct correlation to neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular disorders (1). The purpose of this study is to test for covariates between hand and wrist size, gender, physical activity, and height and weight of sedentary individuals vs. varsity athletes at Carthage College. Our hypothesis is that if hand musculature increases while grip span stays constant that those individuals would have a stronger and more powerful grip ability when performing a grip task. Additionally, a larger joint size will result in a higher crushing grip strength than those with smaller joint sizes regardless of athleticism. Individual crushing grip strength will be measured by using a grip dynamometer calibrated for pounds of force for each hand. The data will then be analyzed for covariance using ANOVA. This study will begin to address the dearth of information regarding what anatomical characteristics are correlated with great hand strength. The relevance of these findings may provide insight into the characteristics of people with both strong and weak grips, and help health care practitioners better treat and prevent hand and wrist injuries. It may also assist in the understanding of possible relationships between grip strength and athletic performance in different athletic activities.

Poster file