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ABSTRACT Objective Methods Results Conclusion Whether or not an athlete plays with sports equipment in their hands may influence handgrip strength (HGS) changes during development, but longitudinal studies have not confirmed this. This study compared one‐year HGS changes between two sports types (soccer vs. kendo) in children and adolescent athletes.One hundred sixty‐eight young athletes (86 kendo boys and 82 soccer boys) had two HGS measurements separated by 1 year. A 2 (sports) by 2 (timepoints 1 and 2) repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine whether HGS changed differently between sports.There was no evidence for a sport × time interaction in HGS (p = 0.14); however, the mean difference and 95% CI were in the direction of favoring a greater change in kendo athletes [difference of 0.6 (95% CI: −0.2, 1.5) kg]. There was a main effect of time and sport. Kendo athletes had a 4.6 (95% CI: 1.8, 7.5) kg greater HGS than soccer athletes. There was no evidence that the change in HGS between sports depended on the initial age of the athlete (p = 0.205).Using sports equipment during play may positively affect HGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free play in kindergarten can be roughly divided into fine and gross motor activities, but the effects of these activities on improving handgrip strength are unknown. Therefore, we aimed to compare one-year changes in handgrip strength and forearm flexor muscle size in children separated by preferred play in a kindergarten. One hundred and eleven children were recruited from a local kindergarten. They underwent handgrip strength and forearm muscle thickness measurements, and 95 (49 boys and 46 girls) underwent a second measurement one year after the first measurement. Class teachers assessed the physical activity of everyone in their class after the second measurement. Using three evaluation scores by the class teachers, we divided children into three groups based on the children's preference to play in kindergarten (fine movement vs. gross motor movement). Handgrip strength did not change differently between groups across one year. However, children who liked active playing outside (i.e., gross motor activity) were stronger than others. Furthermore, children who like playing outside observed greater changes than the other groups in the ulna (right hand) and radius muscle thickness (left hand), suggesting that changes in forearm muscle size might be incongruent with changes in handgrip strength among the three activity groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The factors involved in changes in grip strength (GS) during growth/development are not well known. Findings from cross‐sectional studies have indicated that digit lengths are associated with physical fitness, including GS. This study aimed to investigate the association of changes in GS over 1 year and the second (2D) and fourth (4D) digit lengths in young children using the 4D as a covariate. Methods: One hundred and three young children (54 boys and 49 girls) performed maximum voluntary GS and ultrasound‐measured forearm muscle thickness measurements in the right hand. All participants completed the first measurement and underwent a second measurement 1 year after the first one. The 2D and 4D were taken on the palmar surface of the outstretched right hand at the second measurement. Results: The 2D was inversely associated with the change in GS (B = −2.1, p = 0.023) adjusted for all covariates. Girls had numerically lower adjusted changes in grip strength, although this was not statistically significant [−0.61 (−1.2, 0.02) kg]. When sex was removed from the model, the 2D remained inversely associated with the change in GS (B = −2.39, p = 0.011). Finally, when only adjusting for the 4D, the 2D was inversely associated with the change in GS (B = −3.07, p = 0.004). Conclusion: This study documented the association between changes in GS over 1 year and digit lengths in young children. The difference in children's digit length needs to be recognized as a factor involved in weak GS in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]