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Grip strength, muscle fatigue, and body composition in nomadic Turkana pastoralists
Author(s) -
Little Michael A.,
Johnson Brooke R.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330690306
Subject(s) - grip strength , muscle strength , forearm , medicine , hand muscles , physical therapy , pastoralism , muscle fibre , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anatomy , biology , ecology , livestock , skeletal muscle
Tests of hand grip strength and hand grip muscle fatigue were conducted on Ngisonyoka Turkana pastoralists of northwest Kenya to explore some of the functional relationships between activity and body composition. The test of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of hand grip flexors was conducted on 151 Turkana and 38 U.S. men and women. The fatigue test was conducted on the same number of subjects who were instructed to attempt to maintain 80% of the MVC for 90 seconds. The results of these tests, combined with arm measurements of size and body composition, were used to evaluate muscle size and strength relationships and to estimate muscle fiber type distribution in the forearm. MVC values of Turkana men were low by U.S. and European standards. The low values resulted from smaller Turkana muscle areas. MVC values of Turkana women were comparable to those of U.S. and European women, reflecting comparable muscle areas. The fatigue curves of Turkana and U.S. men and women suggest that slow‐twitch aerobic muscle fibers predominate for the hand grip flexors of the Turkana pastoralists.