Ability of young children to control their grip strength

Abstract

　The purpose of this study was to clarify the ability of young children to control their grip strength by comparing the characteristics of force generation and relaxation. First, participants were instructed to grip as strongly as they could (maximum task), and then to adjust to their self-perceived half strength (half generation task). They were then asked to adjust to their self-perceived half strength from maximum voluntary strength (half relaxation task). Participants’ force levels were recorded. In both the half generation and half relaxation tasks, there was no significant difference between boys and girls, and force levels undershot the target level. Moreover, there was no relationship between the force levels for half generation and that for half relaxation. It is concluded that the accuracy of adjustment to half grip strength after relaxation is lower than that for generation in 5-year-old children.