Background: Elderly hip fractures can result in mortality and impairment, which is a serious health concern. Reduced muscle strength exposes the elderly to risk for hip fractures and affects how they regain physical function. Since handgrip strength (HGS) is a measure of overall muscle strength, it may be a valuable parameter to predict functional outcomes after hip fractures.
Objective: To evaluate the impact of HGS measured early after a hip fracture and its role in predicting the 3-month functional outcome by assessing the activity of daily living (ADL) following hip fracture surgery.
Methods: This is a prospective cohort study with a 3-month follow-up after hip fracture surgery involving 40 elderly aged ≥60 years admitted to the orthopaedic department of Ain Shams University Hospital. Demographic characteristics, cognitive state, and ADL of the elderly are considered in a comprehensive geriatric evaluation. Muscle strength was assessed by JMAR Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer early after the hip fracture and the postoperative functional outcome was followed by using ADL.
Results: There is a statistically significant relation between patients' HGS and ADL before and after surgery, where 95.5% of patients with weak HGS having assisted ADL after 3 months of operation, while those with normal HGS showed 38.9% with independent ADL and 61.1% having assisted ADL.
Conclusion: The current study confirms that HGS evaluated at hospital admission in patients with hip fractures plays a predictive role in the postoperative functional outcome. Therefore, it's necessary to incorporate HGS assessment into the evaluation of hip fracture patients in the acute phase.