Comparison of Upper Extremity Endurance and Hand Grip Strength Among Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women

BACKGROUND: Women's reproductive years come to an end with menopause because of ovarian follicular function decline. The postmenopausal period is associated with an increased prevalence of shoulder injuries; shoulder stiffness was shown to be the most prevalent symptom during this time, occurring at a rate of 75.4%. Grip strength is a key sign of physical ability, especially for women who have gone through menopause and are losing muscle and bone mass because their estrogen levels are dropping. OBJECTIVE: To compare upper extremity endurance and hand grip strength among premenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 60 female participants in the age group of 40-60 years, were divided into 30 premenopausal and 30 postmenopausal group based upon the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The upper extremity endurance (modified push up test) and hand grip strength (handheld dynamometer) were measured respectively. RESULT: Intergroup comparison was done using Mann-Whitney U test and the level of significance was kept (p<0.05). The result revealed that there was a significant difference in upper extremity endurance (premenopausal:16.96±2.17 postmenopausal:9.76±1.56) and hand grip strength (premenopausal:19.47±2.32 postmenopausal:16.67±1.62) among postmenopausal women. CONCLUSION: There is a reduction of upper extremity endurance and hand grip strength among postmenopausal women. Key words: upper extremity endurance, hand grip strength, premenopausal women, postmenopausal women