The Relationship Between Toe Grip Strength and Physical Fitness in Elementary School Children

Introduction: Toes are the only parts of the body connected to the ground, providing both tactile and pressure information through the plantar afferents, somatic sensation through these organs is also very important for various movements, including standing and walking. In particular, the toes control whole body posture and movement, and can generate propulsive force during walking and prevent forward falls. Toe function has been often represented as toe grip strength in various studies. Some investigators have found that low toe grip strength (TGS) is an important risk factor for falls among elderly individuals (Endo et al. 2002). The other side a decrease in children’s physical strength and athletic ability has become a problem in recent years. The present study was aimed to reveal the relationship between TGS and physical fitness in elementary school children.Methods: From first to sixth grade 274 primary school children (men=133, women=141) were participated in this study. TGS was measured using a toe grip dynamometer (Takei Scientific Instruments, Japan). Physical performance was evaluated using MEXT’s physical fitness tests (Grip strength, sit-up, long seat type anteflexion measurement, sidesteps, multi-stage fitness test, 50-meter run, standing long jump, softball throw), manual muscle test (MMT)(Knee extension torque, knee flexion torque, hip extension torque and Hip flexion torque) and Jumping height (Rebound jump (RJ), squat jump (SQJ), counter movement jump (CMJ). The correlations for mean TGS between boys and girls were calculated using Peason’s correlation coefficient. To assess relationships between mean TGS and the selected parameters, we calculated Pearson’s correlation coefficient by sex and conducted a stepwise multiple regression analysis that included physical characteristics, physical fitness and muscle strength as explanatory valuables. For all tests, statistical significance was set at p