Effect of elbow flexion, forearm rotation and upper arm abduction on MVC grip and grip endurance time

Abstract

This experiment was designed to know the effect of upper limb postural deviations on grip strength and grip endurance time. A full factorial design of experiment, i.e., 3 (0°, 45°, 90° abduction angles of upper arm) × 3 (45°, 90°, 135° angles of elbow flexion) ×3 (0°, -60° prone, +60° supine angles of forearm rotation) was used to find the effect of 27 combinations of postures on maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) grip strength and grip endurance time. The results showed that none of the main factors were significant on MVC grip, although there was a change in MVC grip. Grip endurance time significantly decreased with an increase in upper arm abduction. Also, grip endurance significantly increased with the elbow flexion angle and decreased with forearm rotation from neutral. These data will help designers and engineers to improve the workplace and tools to reduce the risk of injuries. © 2012, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.