ISOMETRIC GRIP STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE OF PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL SPONDYLOSIS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

This study compared the grip strength (GS) and grip endurance (GE) of patients with cervical spondylosis (CS) with those of healthy controls and determined the effect of hand dominance on these variables. Forty subjects (20 with CS and 20 controls; age range, 27-70 years; mean age, 47.5 +/- 13.9 years) participated in this study. Sitting on an armless chair of standard height, the subject's test arm was held at 90 degrees elbow flexed with the forearm in neutral position; subjects squeezed a dynamometer maximally (GS) and held it until the contact force output could not be maintained (GE) while being timed with a stop watch. Patients with CS had significantly lower GS (p<0.05) and GE (p<0.001) than the controls in both dominant and non-dominant hands. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the GS and GE of the dominant and non-dominant hands in patients with CS and controls. GS and GE are lower in CS patients than in controls but are similar in the dominant and non-dominant hands in both groups, suggesting that limb dominance does not affect GS and GE.