Hand arthritis is the leading cause of disability in individuals over the age of 50, causing impairments in grip strength and range of motion. Golf is often recommended to patients with hand arthritis as a low-impact sport to maintain a healthy lifestyle. As such, numerous “arthritic” golf grips have been marketed, but lack quantitative measures to justify their use. The objective of this study was to quantify the differences in total applied grip force in golfers with/without hand arthritis using several types of golf grips. Twenty-seven participants (17 without and 10 with hand arthritis) were evaluated swinging mid-iron clubs with 12 different golf grip designs (9 standard and 3 “arthritic”). The trail hand thumb, index, middle, and ring finger applied grip forces were measured using the wireless FingerTPS system. Finger grip configuration (finger joint angles) of the thumb and index were measured using the Dartfish Movement Analysis Software paired with the newly developed Grip Configuration Model to obtain grip range of motion. Results indicated that golfers with hand arthritis had a significant deficit of 45% golf grip strength (P = 0.02). In addition, individuals with hand arthritis exhibited larger forces in 11 out of 12 golf grips tested when compared with their maximum golf grip strength. Despite how these grips are marketed, there are no “savings” in finger force or grip configuration when using the “arthritic” designed golf grips. Therefore, these grips may not be beneficial for patients with hand arthritis.

中文翻译：

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使用新的可穿戴传感器技术研究有和没有手关节炎的人在挥动高尔夫球杆时施加的握力

手部关节炎是 50 岁以上人群残疾的主要原因，导致握力和运动范围受损。高尔夫经常被推荐给手部关节炎患者，作为一项低影响运动，以保持健康的生活方式。因此，市场上销售了许多“关节炎”高尔夫球握把，但缺乏量化措施来证明其使用的合理性。本研究的目的是量化使用几种类型的高尔夫球握把在有/没有手部关节炎的高尔夫球手中施加的总握力的差异。27 名参与者（17 名没有手关节炎，10 名患有手关节炎）接受了评估，他们挥动具有 12 种不同高尔夫球握把设计（9 种标准和 3 种“关节炎”）的中铁杆。使用无线 FingerTPS 系统测量小手拇指、食指、中指和无名指施加的握力。使用 Dartfish 运动分析软件与新开发的 Grip Configuration Model 配对，测量拇指和食指的手指抓握配置（手指关节角度），以获得抓握运动范围。结果表明，手部关节炎的高尔夫球手有 45% 的高尔夫球握力明显不足（P = 0.02）。此外，与最大高尔夫球握力相比，手关节炎患者在测试的 12 种高尔夫球握把中的 11 种表现出更大的力量。尽管这些握把是如何销售的，但在使用“关节炎”设计的高尔夫球握把时，手指力量或握把配置并没有“节省”。因此，这些握法可能对手部关节炎患者不利。