Thoughtful Thursday…Grip strength and…mortality…?

Welcome to Thoughtful Thursday. This GreenNote Fitness newsletter mindfully gathers and distills useful information that is supportive to our journey. It is my mission to educate, inspire, and propel you into action that moves you towards your goals and life of purpose. Take control of your journey today.

After reading the article, Grip Strength May Provide Clues to Heart Health, I reached for my pair of Captains of Crush and am incorporating grip strength specific exercises a couple of times a week into my training. Why? Get this, a study was conducted that showed a connection between your grip strength and likelihood of heart disease or death. Using a device called a dynamometer, subjects grip strength was assessed. "Each 11-pound decrease in grip strength over the course of the study was linked to a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause, a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, a 9% higher risk of stroke, and a 7% higher risk of heart attack." Interestingly, the study did not conclude that a weaker hand grip was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, or other chronic conditions. So why the greater risk of dying? As the article points out, "researchers suggest that weaker muscle strength makes it more likely that a person will die sooner if he or she develops a chronic medical problem, compared with those who have more muscle strength.” Take away - muscle strength is pretty darn important. Let’s all get a grip. “Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Dr. Darryl Leong, from the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University in Canada. For a less daunting possible indicator, other studies show that issues with your grip can extend to other areas of your body and cause more injuries than you wouldn’t necessarily have associated with your grip. One example of this is the health of your shoulder and rotator cuff have been correlated to the strength of your grip. A study found that grip strength has a significant correlation with the muscle strength of shoulder abduction and external rotation. Another study showed increased prevalence of rotator cuff weakness and injury on same side of a hand injury. Grip strength - what a measure! Not only important for shoulder health but for cardiovascular health as well. Strengthening muscles is so important. Next time we will look at specific grip strengthening exercises. Stay tuned and be prepared to learn how to get a grip. Enjoy your journey, Lisa Schaffer GreenNote Fitness You wouldn’t happen to know just one person that would benefit from this information? Please forward it to them! Did you miss last week’s newsletter on how I track my training...? P.S. Check out my Facebook page for inspiration. P.P.S. Discover GreenNote Fitness recommendations for books, podcasts, and more on body, mind, and spirit.