Forget expensive, high-tech scans for a moment because it turns out that one of the most accessible and surprisingly accurate indicators of your overall health and even your potential lifespan might be as simple as squeezing a tennis ball.
According to Joshua Davidson, a strength and conditioning researcher at the University of Derby, hand grip strength is an increasingly recognised and reliable marker of human health, the BBC reported.
In clinical settings, scientists often employ a hand dynamometer to precisely measure the force generated by hand and forearm muscles. Now, companies are developing user-friendly home devices paired with mobile apps to track this vital statistic.
However, Davidson, whose work highlights the significance of hand grip strength, assures that a basic "squeeze test" with a tennis or stress ball can provide a valuable initial assessment.
"All you need is any object that you can grasp and can be deformed without causing pain or discomfort," he said. "Simply squeeze it for as long as you can before your grip fatigues. Being able to maintain a maximal squeeze on something like a tennis ball for 15-30 seconds would be a good standard to strive for."
Keeping a record of your squeeze duration allows for easy self-monitoring over time.
While a weak grip might only directly impact tasks like opening jars, Mark Peterson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation professor at the University of Michigan, emphasises its role as a "proxy for overall musculoskeletal strength throughout the body."
It can signal activity levels, sedentary behaviour, and crucially, the risk of frailty — a state of vulnerability linked to declining physiological health.
Connection between grip strength, longevity
The profound connection between grip strength and longevity first gained significant attention through a study of nearly 140,000 adults across various income levels.
The findings revealed that grip strength was a more potent predictor of premature death than traditional indicators like blood pressure.
Further research has illuminated grip strength's link to exceptional longevity.
One study tracking individuals from their late 50s and 60s for over four decades discovered that those who lived past 100 were 2.5 times more likely to have had higher grip strength in their younger years compared to those who died before 79.
Darryle Leong, an associate professor at McMaster University in Canada, explains that handgrip strength reflects a combination of factors: nutrition, physical activity, and the presence of illnesses.
"This is the reason it's associated with so many health outcomes," he said.
According to dynamometer studies, grip strength scores below 25.5 kilogrammes for men and 18kg for women suggest an elevated risk of sarcopenia — the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, increasing the likelihood of falls and fractures.
The implications of grip strength extend beyond physical capabilities.
Muscle plays a vital role in metabolism, acting as a reservoir for excess blood glucose and helping to prevent insulin resistance.
Consequently, weaker grip strength can signal a higher susceptibility to metabolic dysfunctions, including type 2 diabetes, lower bone density, malnutrition, cognitive impairment, and depression.
Intriguingly, a 2022 study linked lower grip strength to signs of accelerated ageing at a DNA level, observing differences in DNA methylation patterns associated with ageing and lifestyle factors.
You can test your grip strength at home with exercises as simple as squeezing a tennis ball or two or three sets of 10-20 repetitions of single-arm wrist curls.
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