Grip Strength Can Reveal Surgery Risk for Older Patients

Grip Strength Can Reveal Surgery Risk for Older Patients

Study suggests that a 1-minute test can spot those who might require special precautions

Getty Get a grip before your next surgical operation. New research suggests that a simple one-minute test with a grip-strength device can identify older patients who are "frail," meaning at higher risk for . The study, published in the May issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, looked at 311 patients with an average age of 69 who visited a vascular clinic over a nine-month period. They were asked to squeeze a device called a calibrated hydraulic hand dynamometer to test their strength. Based on the grip test, the researchers determined that 86 of the patients (27.7 percent) were frail. Those results correlated reliably with other measurements used to assess frailty. The grip test is easier and simpler to perform than other measurements, such as a CT scan to determine a patient’s . And it’s more precise than observing a person’s gait and level of difficulty getting out of a chair, which are screening methods used by doctors. Matthew Corriere, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Michigan and the study’s corresponding author, said in a news release that while the study focused on predicting complications from vascular surgery, using grip strength as an indicator might work well in other types of medicine, such as orthopedics.
With the grip test, “I am no longer going on a 'sense' that I have,” Corriere said. “Instead, I have data that the patient is at higher risk."
If a frail patient needs surgery, the grip test could alert a doctor to take additional precautions, such as presurgical rehabilitation.

More Health News

Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.