Defining upper extremity dominance: The contributions of hand preference and grip strength

TL;DR

This study shows that hand preference and grip strength may not align, suggesting the need for task-specific definitions of upper extremity dominance.

Contribution

The study introduces the idea that grip strength does not reliably indicate hand dominance, advocating for task-specific definitions.

Findings

Writing and throwing hand preference showed a moderate, significant relationship.

Grip strength dominance was not significantly associated with writing or throwing hand preference.

Task-specific definitions of dominance are recommended for better accuracy in clinical and athletic contexts.

Abstract

Upper extremity (UE) dominance is often defined by self-reported hand preference; however, this may not accurately reflect true functional or strength-based dominance. This study examined the relationship between writing hand, throwing hand, and maximal grip strength to assess how these measures align.

Thirty-four healthy, recreationally active college-aged individuals reported their preferred writing and throwing hands and completed standardized grip strength testing. Associations among the variables were analyzed using Phi coefficients and chi-square tests.

A moderate, significant relationship was found between writing and throwing hand preference (φ = 0.456; p = 0.008), indicating general consistency across these subjective measures. However, no significant association emerged between grip strength dominance and either writing (φ = 0.027; p = 0.876) or throwing hand (φ = 0.096; p = 0.574).

These results suggest that grip strength dominance may not correlate with commonly used indicators of hand preference, highlighting the need for task-specific definitions of dominance in clinical and athletic contexts. Consequently, employing such task-specific definitions allows for more accurate assessments and enhances the translational relevance of research findings in practical settings.

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