Provisional norms by age group for Japanese females on the controlled force-exertion test using a bar-chart display

This study examined age-group and individual differences on the controlled force-exertion test by bar-chart display and proposed a provisional norm in 249 females who were right-handed and ages 15 to 84 years. The subjects matched their submaximal grip strength to changing demand values, appearing as a bar chart on the display of a personal computer. The subjects performed the controlled force-exertion test three times with 1-min. intervals (single trials were 40 sec.), after one practice trial using the dominant hand. A total of the differences (%) between the demand value and the grip-exertion value for 25 sec. was used as an evaluation parameter. The measurements showed a right-skewed distribution, normalized after logarithmic transformation. Analysis of variance identified significant differences between means of each age group; test performance decreased after 40 years of age. Norms for each age group were presented.