Assessment of handgrip strength in preschool children aged 3 to 5 years Sánchez Delgado, Guillermo Cadenas Sánchez, Cristina Mora González, José Rafael Martínez Téllez, Borja Manuel Chillón Garzón, Palma Löf, Marie Ortega Porcel, Francisco Bartolomé Ruiz Ruiz, Jonatan We investigated whether there is an optimal grip span for determining the maximum handgrip strength in preschool children and if it is influenced by gender, age, or hand size. A total of 292 preschool children (3–5 years; 59.2% boys) carried out the handgrip strength test with different grip spans (4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 cm). The hand size was also measured. We also determined the reliability of the optimal grip span in another group of children (n = 56, 57% boys) who did the test twice, with a 3-hour difference between tests. The results showed that 4.0 cm is the optimal grip span to determine the maximum handgrip strength in preschool children. This result applied to both genders, all age groups, and hand sizes. Paired t-tests showed no significant differences between test and retest. These findings may guide clinicians and researchers in selecting the optimal grip span when measuring handgrip strength in preschool children. We investigated whether there is an optimal grip span for determining the maximum handgrip strength in preschool children and if it is influenced by gender, age, or hand size. A total of 292 preschool children (3–5 years; 59.2% boys) carried out the handgrip strength test with different grip spans (4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 cm). The hand size was also measured. We also determined the reliability of the optimal grip span in another group of children (n = 56, 57% boys) who did the test twice, with a 3-hour difference between tests. The results showed that 4.0 cm is the optimal grip span to determine the maximum handgrip strength in preschool children. This result applied to both genders, all age groups, and hand sizes. Paired t-tests showed no significant differences between test and retest. These findings may guide clinicians and researchers in selecting the optimal grip span when measuring handgrip strength in preschool children. 2025-01-31T10:20:51Z 2025-01-31T10:20:51Z 2015-11 journal article https://hdl.handle.net/10481/101591 10.1177/1753193415592328 eng 40;9 open access open access SAGE