1. Introduction
Grip strength is an important aspect of all working activities in daily active life in which workers use their hands in manual operations such as construction material mixing, manual materials handling, carpentry, plumbing and shoveling. In addition, workers who operate hand-held power tools, who are occupationally exposed to hand-transmitted vibration, which is associated with various disorders of the hand and arm [1,2,3], require hand protection using gloves. These operations are likely to occur in outdoor environments. The climatic temperature of some regions around the world varies between 5 °C and 45 °C. Taylor et al. [4], as well as Bedford [5], reported that there is a positive relationship between mean hand skin temperature and the environmental air temperature which influences the body’s thermal exchanges with the thermal environment.
Therefore, ergonomists must consider this environmental issue when designing equipment used by workers in their daily working life due to the fact that hand gripping is an essential element of their activities [6,7]. Gripping is caused by bending all the fingers together except the thumb. Thus, grip strength is defined as the total contact force applied to a handle with his/her maximum voluntary contraction effort.
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Local cooling of the hand decreases manual performance through both physical and neuromuscular pathways [8]. Local cooling decreases flexibility [9] due to increased viscosity within the joints and soft tissues which interferes with smooth joint movements [10]. Cold also affects muscle activity through decreased metabolism utilization, enzyme activity, calcium, and acetylcholine release, and delayed cross-bridge formation [11]. This decreases the contraction velocity and maximal strength [12]. Thus, hand cooling could increase the risk hazards in workplace such as slaughterhouses [13]. Data on healthy adults and hand grip strength, especially with the effect of a hot environment on hand strength, are scarce. A study that assessed hand grip strength in healthy adults from 21 countries found that men in hot countries exhibited intermediate hand grip strength when compared with the highest levels of hand grip strength noted among European and North American populations [14]. Other than this recent study, there is still a dearth of available literature on hand grip strength in hot climates using protective gloves.
Industrial assemblers, machinists, medical doctors, farmers, and construction workers use gloves in different workplaces to protect their arms and hands from chemicals, heat, cold, and physical harm such as cuts and blisters [15,16]. The effect of glove use on hand grip performance has been investigated. Sudhakar and Schoenmarklin [17] concluded that a certain amount of muscle force was lost in the hand-glove interface based on the measurement of normalized peak and mean muscular activities taken from isometric contractions. Fleming et al. [18] indicated that glove type and hand grip contraction had an effect on physiological fatigue and the subjective perception of fatigue. Since it was reported that protective gloves reduce hand heat loss in a cold air environment by 60-90% and those heat losses were 50-100% greater from the fingers than the palm and the back of the hand [19], wearing gloves may be another risk factor among those whose jobs require repetitive motions and large exertion forces on the hand in hot environments.
Glove use is generally recommended to keep the hands warm and dry and to protect them from many other hazards, provided that this is consistent with safe and effective tool operation. However, users of thicker, stiffer gloves, such as some industrial gloves, could be trading one health risk for another. Knowledge of the effects of gloves on grip strength can help workers, managers, and safety professionals make informed decisions about glove selection and use in the workplace. This knowledge may also lead to improvements in work gloves [20].
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Several researchers [21,22,23,24,25,26,27] have reported that grip strength is dependent on many factors. For example, male participants showed greater grip strength than their female counterparts [28,29] due to the difference in body composition such as low muscle mass and high fat mass in females, which leads to decreased grip strength when compared to males. Hand grip strength reduces with advanced age [30,31]. Various researchers [32] also found that grip strength was positively associated with an individual’s nutritional status [33,34]. This finding draws parallel to the findings of anthropometric measurement studies [35]. Furthermore, nutritional status also leads to specific levels of body mass, which in turn has been found to correlate directly to grip strength [36]. Vikram [37] stated that hand grip strength could be predicted by using forearm circumference and hand length for the dominant hand. Fraser [38] and Mohamed [39] stated that there was a significant correlation between grip strength and forearm girth. Incel [40] stated that hand grip strength was higher in right-hand dominant than left-hand dominant groups. However, the work of Reikeras [41] and Roberts [42] reported that there was no significant difference in grip strength of the dominant and non-dominant hand. Research described in References [43,44,45] reported that grip strength was greater in standing than in sitting and the supine posture because of changes in length of the muscle. Su [43] argued that the 180 degree-flexed shoulder had higher grip strength than zero degree flexion. Swanson [44] revealed that the subject’s grip was weaker in the supported arm compared to the unsupported arm. Watson [45] argued that psychological factors such as depression scores were associated with diminished grip strength. Studies by Auyeung et al. [46] and Choudhary et al. [47] found relationships between hand grip strength and mental fitness or cognition.
Martin [48] stated on variations in the grip strength of the individuals that grip was greater between 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. and grip strength decreased between 8.00 p.m. and 4.00 a.m. Saud [49] stated that smokers demonstrated reduced grip strength and fast fatigability in comparison to non-smokers. Ruff [50] stated that grip strength started decreasing at 4000 m to 7000 m and abruptly dropped from 7000 m to 9000 m. Deepak [51] found that immersing hands in hot water increased hand grip strength when compared to immersing hands in cold water. However, results of the Barter [52] study stated that there was no correlation between hand grip hold time and a reduction in temperature. Muscular fatigue developed from repetitive hand activities is of particular concern. Burke [53] compared maximum grip strength values to grip strength endurance; the maximum grip strength was approximately twice as much as grip strength endurance. Dianat et al. [54] found a greater thickness of the glove would limit manual hand dexterity, which may discourage the use of gloves by operators, or thereby limit the effective hand grip strength [18]. Generally, workers tackle the reduced hand grip strength by applying higher hand grip force, thus increasing effort. The increased grip effort may increase the risk of hand-arm disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome [55]. Many studies have investigated the grip strength reduction due to glove use [2,20].
Due to the high cost of work injuries, it is important to identify whether wearing gloves in hot environments during grip activities increases the risk of injuries. It is reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [56] that wearing gloves has been proven to reduce the relative risk of injury by 60%. In addition, hand injuries are caused by physical or chemical hazards and result in burns, bruises, abrasions, cuts, punctures, fractures and amputations. Annually, 110,000 lost-time hand injuries are reported. Also, hand injuries force more than one million workers to the emergency room each year. Therefore, determining whether gloves with varied skin hand temperatures affect grip strength is an important step in answering this question and in preventing these injuries. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of industrial gloves at low and high skin temperatures affects the grip force exertions in a healthy young population when compared with no glove use in the comfort-zone environment.
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