, 2005) using different types of hand dynamometers. Particularly, Espana-Romero et al. (2008) reported high reliability (ICC = 0.97 �C 0.98) of the handgrip strength test in 6�C12 year-old children, using the Takey dynamometer. selleck Perifosine Excellent test-retest reliability (r = 0.96 �C 0.98) of handgrip strength have been also showed in untrained adolescents (14�C17 years-old; Ruiz et al., 2006). In addition, Langerstrom et al. (1998) and Ruiz-Ruiz et al. (2002) found high reliability (r = 0.91 �C 0.97) of the handgrip strength test in healthy adults using the Grippit and Takei dynamometers, respectively. The results of this study are also, in accordance with those by Coelho e Silva et al. (2008; 2010) in young basketball players (14�C15.9 years-old and 12�C13.9 years-old, respectively) that reported high reliability (r = 0.

99) of handgrip strength using the Lafayette hand dynamometer. Table 3 Test-retest reliability of maximal handgrip strength in healthy children, adolescents and adults Our results support earlier findings that showed non-significant differences in handgrip strength between test and retest values (Espana-Romero et al., 2008; 2010a). In contrast, Clerke et al. (2005) found small but significant differences in handgrip strength between test and retest, in 13 to 17 year-old adolescents. The absence of warm-up or familiarization prior to testing in the above study may account for the differences in handgrip strength between test and retest measurements. Indeed, Svensson et al.

(2008), who also found differences in handgrip strength between test and retest suggested that children may learn over the trials a better technique or accomplish to squeeze harder. Therefore, the authors recommended a familiarization session and three maximal trials during the main testing. Reliability and age-effect Only a few studies addressed the issue of age-effect on reliability of handgrip strength in untrained participants (Table 4). The results of our study are in line with those of Espana-Romero et al. (2010a) who examined the reliability of the handgrip strength test in untrained children (6�C11 years-old) and adolescents (12�C18 years-old) using the Takey dynamometer and found high reliability in both age-groups. Moreover, Molenaar et al. (2008) compared the reliability of handgrip strength among three age-groups of untrained children (4�C6, 7�C9, and 10�C12 years old) using two different dynamometers (Lode dynamometer vs.

Martin vigorimeter), and reported no clear age-effect on reliability for both dynamometers. Entinostat Table 4 Test-retest reliability of maximal handgrip strength at different age-group. In contrast, Svensson et al. (2008) compared the reliability of the handgrip strength test among 6, 10 and 14 year old untrained children using the Grippit dynamometer, and showed greater reliability in 6 and 14 year old (ICC = 0.96) compared to 10 year old children (ICC = 0.78).