Pinch Strength

Pinch strength is the force a person can generate between thumb and fingers, measured with a pinch gauge in pounds or kilograms. It matters because so much of hand function is pinch rather than grip — holding a pen, turning a key, doing up a button.

Three patterns are tested and they are not interchangeable. Tip pinch presses the tip of the thumb against the tip of the index finger; it produces the lowest values and is most sensitive to specific weakness. Key or lateral pinch presses the thumb pad against the side of the index finger, as if holding a key; it produces the highest values and best reflects everyday function. Palmar or three-jaw chuck pinch uses the thumb pad against the pads of the index and middle fingers.

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Licensing Notes: There is no license or fee for the measurement itself. The standardized protocol comes from the American Society of Hand Therapists. The most widely used normative data is Mathiowetz et al. (1985), Grip and Pinch Strength: Normative Data for Adults, based on 628 adults aged 20 to 94 and published in pounds.

Learn More: Three things determine whether a score means anything, Positioning must be standardized: seated, shoulder adducted and in neutral rotation, elbow at 90 degrees, forearm neutral, wrist between neutral and 30 degrees of extension, Average three trials, and record which pinch you tested and in what units — key pinch and tip pinch produce very different numbers, and Mathiowetz's tables are in pounds, so a kilogram reading compared against them will mislead.