Short-term effects of running exercise on pinch strength, grip strength, and manual dexterity of the dominant and non-dominant hands

Occupations including first responders and military require manual tasks; therefore changes in hand strength and dexterity could affect performance. We hypothesised that pinch strength, grip strength, and dexterity will change after unloaded and loaded exercise. Twenty-four male (25 +/- 4.0 yrs; 86.3 +/- 9.3 kg) and 10 female (25 +/- 6.0 yrs; 62.1 +/- 5.9 kg) participants completed 3 conditions for 5 minutes: (1) no exercise (2) run with no load at 3.0 m/s and (3) run wearing a 9.1 kg belt. Heart rate was different among conditions (p <= 0.05). Pinch strength was significantly different for the non-dominant hand after exercise (p = 0.005) for male participants, but not for the dominant hand. Grip strength was significantly different for the non-dominant hand between loaded and unloaded run (p = 0.035) for male participants. Pinch and grip strength did not change after exercise for female participants. Dexterity times were not different after exercise, but female participants were significantly faster (p <= 0.039) than male participants. Grip strength, pinch strength, and dexterity are maintained in the first 15 minutes after running exercise for male and female participants. The dominant hand should be used if greater and more consistent strength and dexterity are needed for tasks that involve use of the hands after exercise.Abbreviations: ANOVA: Analysis of Variance; CV: Coefficient of Variation; Dom: Dominant hand; Non-Dom: Non-dominant hand.