Grip Strength as a Vital Sign

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

Scheduled to be released on January 16, 2025.

However you’re thinking about grip strength, I’m betting it isn’t broad enough. 

Grip strength is NOT just about hand strength. 
It is NOT just an indicator of upper body strength. 
It is NOT even just about overall strength. 

Grip strength is associated with: 

• mortality,
• psychological health,
• functional disabilities,
• hospitalization,
• and more!

The article we are reviewing today urges us to consider grip strength as a vital sign, because this simple measurement is actually an indicator of overall well-being. And, I believe it is a metric every therapist should be paying attention to with virtually every patient.

After we review this article, we will welcome to the podcast Gabriella Francis, OTR/L, ATC. Gabby is the CEO of Squegg, a grip strength health tech company. Through this role, she has been immersed in the science of grip strength—and we are excited to chat with her about the practical implications of this new science for occupational therapy professionals and for our healthcare system at large.

Primary Journal Article Explored

• Hand grip strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: A narrative review of evidences.

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Predictive ability of hand-grip strength and muscle mass on functional prognosis in patients rehabilitating from stroke.
• Measurement Properties of the Hand Grip Strength Assessment: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.

Learning Objectives

• You will recognize the associations between grip strength and occupational health. 
• You will be able to identify important nuances to accurately assessing grip strength. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (55 minutes)

• Can you tell me how you became the CEO of a health tech company? 
• Can you tell me the basics of Squegg and your role? 
• What did you think of this paper? 
• Do you know any stories of MDs that track grip strength as a vital sign, and refer to therapy based on it? 
• What do you see as the value of tracking grip strength for ALL OT patients? 
• What considerations do you weigh when it comes to procedures for testing?
• What considerations do you weigh when comparing to our current normative data?
• What have you learned about improving grip strength? 
• What do you see on the horizon for grip strength?

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about AI and Clinical Decision Support.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. 

Speakers

Gabriella Francis, OTR/L, ATC

Hi, my name is Gabriella Francis, I use she/her pronouns, and I am a certified and licensed Occupational Therapist practitioner in the state of NY. I completed my Master’s from NYU’s OT program and am currently working on my post-professional doctorate at NYU with a clinical competence area of expanding the OT’s role in designing, and developing assistive technology (AT). I love providing patient care-PD at NYU Langone Rusk Rehabilitation on a medically complex adult inpatient unit. My passions also align with advocacy, accessibility, and usability, for all, as I enter the space of innovation and product design as a subject matter expert and CEO. I am on the product development team at Level the Curve, a disability led company, to help design and develop AT for individuals with various abilities, and I am also the CEO of Squegg (think squeeze +egg)!

I am passionate about breaking down traditional power constructs, empowering users as the experts of their own lived experiences and creatively collaborating to make products that enable individuals to engage and participate in meaningful activities. I am truly excited to see where my career path takes me as the worlds of healthcare and technology merge.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

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