Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the characteristics and laterality of hand grip and elbow flexion power in young female adults. The subjects were 15 healthy right-handed young females (mean age 22.4±1.0 yr, mean height 161.1±3.0cm, mean mass 55.4±4.6kg). Peak power was exerted by both hands and both arms using six different loads of 20%－70% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). The MVCs for hand grip and elbow flexion were significantly larger in the dominant hand than in the non-dominant hand. The peak power of the dominant hand was larger for all loads for hand grip but showed no significance between both hands for elbow flexion. In short, laterality was confirmed only for the hand grip power. In addition, the peak power was significantly larger in hand grip than in elbow flexion in the dominant and non-dominant hand. The peak velocity decreased linearly with increasing loads for both movements, but the peak power increased until about 50% MVC and then decreased. The power ratio of the dominant hand to the non-dominant hand was significantly larger for hand grip power than for elbow flexion power for all loads. In conclusion, hand grip power is larger than elbow flexion power, and laterality is more marked for hand grip power.
