Test-retest reliability of handgrip strength measurement using a hydraulic hand dynamometer in patients with cervical radiculopathy

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of handgrip strength measurement using a hydraulic hand dynamometer in patients with cervical radiculopathy (CR).

Methods: A convenience sample of 19 participants (14 men and 5 women; mean ± SD age, 50.5 ± 12 years) with CR was measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer by the same rater on 2 different testing sessions with an interval of 7 days between sessions. Data collection procedures followed standardized grip strength testing guidelines established by the American Society of Hand Therapists. During the repeated measures, patients were advised to rest their upper limb in the standardized arm position and encouraged to exert 3 maximum gripping efforts. The mean value of the 3 efforts (measured in kilogram force [Kgf]) was used for data analysis. The intraclass correlation coefficient, SEM, and the Bland-Altman plot were used to estimate test-retest reliability and measurement precision.

Results: Grip strength measurement in CR demonstrated an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.976, suggesting excellent test-retest reliability. The small SEM in both testing sessions (SEM1, 2.41 Kgf; SEM2, 2.51 Kgf) as well as the narrow width of the 95% limits of agreements (95% limits of agreement, -4.9 to 4.4 Kgf) in the Bland-Altman plot reflected precise measurements of grip strength in both occasions.

Conclusions: Excellent test-retest reliability for grip strength measurement was measured in patients with CR, demonstrating that a hydraulic hand dynamometer could be used as an outcome measure for these patients.