1 Before you use it
What it is
The objective measure that carries most of the wrist and hand chapter, and the one your pattern pages already list as an asterisk sign.
Standardised position: seated, shoulder adducted and neutral, elbow flexed to 90°, forearm neutral, wrist 0–30° extension. Three trials per side, averaged.
When to reach for it
Every wrist and hand presentation, and lateral elbow tendinopathy — where pain-free grip is the outcome that tracks the condition.
Post-distal-radius-fracture it is one of the three things worth measuring, alongside range in degrees and the one-handed activity list.
2 Giving it
Scoring
Record in kilograms, both sides, same dynamometer, same handle position, same posture, every time. Report the mean of three trials and the side-to-side ratio.
The handle setting matters — record which position you used, because a different setting is a different test.
What it doesn’t measure
Pain, function, or which structure is at fault. A weak grip is a finding, not a diagnosis — it can be pain inhibition, tendon, nerve, joint or non-use.
Pinch strength is a separate measurement and is the more relevant one at the thumb base.
Repeat it
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Normative data exist by age and sex (Mathiowetz et al. 1985). No values are printed here — look them up against your patient's age and sex rather than working from a remembered figure.
Side-to-side comparison is more useful than a norm in a unilateral problem: the uninjured hand is the best available control, adjusted for hand dominance.
Is the change real?
On placement
Distal radius fracture, 10 weeks post-cast. Grip 14 kg injured, 30 kg uninjured at intake. Six weeks later: 22 kg injured, same dynamometer, same handle position, mean of three.
Read it as 8 kg up. Over the 6.5 kg MCID after distal radius fracture and the 6.5 kg MDC (mixed populations), so it is real and it matters. The side-to-side ratio has moved from 47% to 73% — the uninjured hand is the control, adjusted for dominance.
Do keep the ratio as the target, not the norm table. Progress grip loading and re-measure at the next review.
Student trap. Changing the handle position or the elbow angle between visits. Do that and the change you measured is your setup, not their hand.
Official source: null. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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