International Journal of Health Sciences & Research (www.ijhsr.org) 245 Vol.6; Issue: 2; February 2016 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research www.ijhsr.org ISSN: 2249-9571 Original Research Article Comparison of Hand Grip Strength in Different Positions of Shoulder with Elbow in 90º Flexion and 0º Extension Positions Karthikeyan Rajendran 1* , Sam Thamburaj A 2** , Syed Abudaheer K 1* , Ilayaraja Alagia Thiruvevenkadam 1* 1 Senior Lecturer, 2 Professor, * Department of Physiotherapy, Asia Metropolitan University, Cheras, Selangor, Malaysia. ** Academic Coordinator, Vinayaka Missions College of Physiotherapy, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India. Corresponding Author: Karthikeyan Rajendran Received: 22/12/2015 Revised: 13/01/2016 Accepted: 13/01/2016 ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect grip strength in different positions of elbow with shoulder neutral and flexion while the subject is in standing position. Methods: 30 students from the Vinayaka Mission College of physiotherapy were selected randomly with the age group of 18-25years and divided into group 1 (n=15) male and group 2 (n=15) female. Testing done in standing posture, the right handed dominant subjects were included in this study. Grip-strength measurements were taken by the shoulder 0ºneural flexion and 90ºflexion with respect to elbow positioned at 0 degree extension and 90 degrees of flexion. Grip strength was used as an outcome measure for the study. Results: The highest mean grip strength was recorded; when the shoulder was positioned in neutral flexion with elbow in 0 degree extension with respect to the wrist in neutral (42.90±11.87). The lowest mean grip strength was recorded; when the shoulder was positioned in 90 degree flexion with elbow in 90 degree flexion with respect to wrist in neutral (28.83±13.52). Comparison between the gender shows a significant difference between the male and female in which male has greater grip strength than the female in all positions. The highest mean grip in males and females were documented when the shoulder was positioned in neutral flexion with elbow in 0º extension with respect to the wrist positioned in neutral. The results of ANOVA findings indicated significant differences (p<0.05) in grip strength between shoulder 90º flexion with respect to elbow 90º flexion and 0º extension. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient of age and different positions of shoulder with respect to the elbow positions and results showed that there is No linear relationship between age and different positions of the shoulder and elbow (r=0). Conclusion: This study confirms that various joint positions can affect grip strength, especially the elbow and shoulder joints with respect to wrist positions neutral. It would be reasonable to evaluate the hand injured patient‟s grip strength using different combined shoulder and elbow positions to determine their maximal grip force. Clinically useful information may be derived from these findings and are valuable in the evaluation and rehabilitation training of hand injured patients. Key words: Grip Strength, Hand Strength Testing, Elbow Position, Shoulder Position. INTRODUCTION Grip strength is a part of „hand strength‟ which use as an application of force to pull or suspend an object. It is one of the important parts of the human body which requires the ability to manipulate