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Andre Luiz Felix Rodacki,1 Natália Boneti Moreira,2 Arthur Pitta,1 Renata Wolf,1 Jarbas Melo Filho,1 Cintia de Lourdes Nahhas Rodacki,1,3 Gleber Pereira1 1Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil; 2Department of Physiotherapy Prevention and Rehabilitation, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil; 3Department of Physical Education, Paraná Technological Federal University, Paraná, Curitiba, BrazilCorrespondence: Andre Luiz Felix RodackiCentro de Estudos do Comportamento Motor (CECOM), Universidade Federal do Paraná. Centro Politécnico, Jardim Botânico, Curitiba, PR, BrasilTel| Fax +55 041 3360-4322Email rodacki@ufpr.brAim: This study aimed to determine the association of handgrip strength with isometric and isokinetic strength (hip, knee and ankle extensor/flexor muscles), and functional capacity in older women.Methods: The handgrip strength and lower limb strength of 199 older women (60– 86 years) were measured using JAMAR and BIODEX dynamometers, respectively. Time Up and Go, Five-times-sit-to-stand and 6m-walk functional tests were evaluated. Pearson correlations were used to determine the relationship between variables. Regression analysis was applied to identify if HS was able to predict TUG performance. The effect of age was analyzed by splitting the participants in a group of older women (OLD; from 60 to 70 years old) and very old women (from 71 to 86 years old).Results: The HS and isometric/isokinetic strength correlations were negligible/low and, in most cases, were non-significant. The correlation between handgrip strength and functional tests also ranged predominantly from negligible (r=0.0 to 0.3) to low (r=0.3 to 0.5), irrespective of the group age. The handgrip strength was not able to explain the variance of the TUG performance.Conclusion: Generalizing handgrip strength as a practical and straightforward measure to determine lower limbs and overall strength, and functional capacity in older women must be viewed with caution. Handgrip strength and standard strength measures of the lower limbs and functional tests present a negligible/low correlation.Keywords: aged, muscle strength, handgrip, functional capacity |
