The prevalence of the palmaris longus muscle and analysis of palmar grip strength in medical students

Introduction: The palmaris longus muscle (PL) is located at the anterior compartment of the forearm, originated at the medial epicondyle of the humerus and inserts itself at the palmar aponeurosis, acting as wrist flexor muscle. Our aims were to evaluate the prevalence of the PL muscle and the palmar grip strength (PGS) in adult Brazilian medical students. Material and Methods: The present study is observational and transversal in fashion and was performed at the Laboratório de Habilidades e Simulação of the Medical School of Estácio de Sá University. The subjects included in the research were medical students of any gender, ethnicity, age and biotype, in agreement with the consent form. Individuals whom possessed any physical impairment that compromised the analysis were excluded from the study. The evaluated outcomes were: anthropometry, visualization and palpation of the PL and dynamometry for measurement of the PGS. Results: 111 volunteers were evaluated (79 women), the mean age was 22.2±3.9 years-old and mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.2±3.7 kg/m2. The PL was found in 81.9%, both right and left (79.7% in women and 87.5% in men). The means of the PGS in women and men were on the right side 27.5±4.9 and 47.2±9.3 kg/f and on the left side 25.5±4.9 and 44.4±9.4 kg/f, respectively. A positive correlation between BMI and PPS (p < 0.001; r = 0.35) and by comparing the groups it was obtained exclusively at the right side a significant difference between the PPS in men with or without the PL (p = 0.002). Conclusion: A high prevalence of the palmaris longus muscle was found on the population of this study and there was a direct association between BMI and PGS.