Reliability of Maximal Handgrip Strength Test in Pre-Pubertal and Pubertal Wrestlers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intersession and the intrasession reliability of maximal handgrip strength test in young wrestlers. Twenty-seven prepubertal (9.49 +/- 0.96yrs) and twenty-seven pubertal (14.60 +/- 0.50yrs) male wrestlers performed two assessment sessions separated by one day. Both assessments included a testing protocol consisted of three maximal isometric contractions, on both hands using a hydraulic dynamometer (Jamar). The intersession and intrasession reliability was high for both prepubertal and pubertal wrestlers (ICC = 0.87-0.99). The single trial as well as the best of two and three trials of handgrip strength were slightly less reliable (ICC = 0.87-0.94) than the mean of two and three trials in prepubertal (ICC = 0.95-0.97). The present results indicate that maximum handgrip strength can be measured reliably, using the Jamar dynamometer, in young wrestlers. A single trial as well as the two trials can be used as reliable, less-tiring and less time-consuming methods for the evaluation of handgrip strength than the three trials.