Grip Strength is a Sign of Longevity — Are You Losing Yours?
You may not think about it all that often, but grip strength—the ability to hold onto and maintain control of an object for an extended period of time—is critically important to your ability to execute everyday tasks. Sure, you need it at the climbing gym or when you’re lifting weights, but you also need grip strength for more mundane activities such as carrying groceries or even driving your car.
Inadequate grip strength makes it more difficult to, well, grip things, but it also creates a cascade effect that prevents other muscle groups from getting stronger, too. “The body uses tactile feedback from the hand and grip to give information to the joints about how much stability and activity is needed,” says physical therapist and MOTIVNY co-founder Luke Greenberg, PT, DPT. “If the hands are weak, it becomes difficult to train the shoulders, chest, and back with adequate loads.”
Outside of the gym, diminishing grip strength may be a sign that your overall health isn’t in a good place; in fact, a 2018 study published in The BMJ found that there is “clear evidence that shows low grip strength is associated with a range of poorer health outcomes.” Researchers also discovered that grip strength was predictive of longevity because it was associated with cardiovascular disease (or lack thereof).
Excerpted from Well + Good
