• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Introduction
• What Is Hand Grip Strength?
• The South Korean Study
• Hand Grip Strength and Heart Health
• What Your Hand Grip Strength Says
• Help for Erection Problems

Introduction 

A recent study conducted at South Korea’s Chonnam National University Medical School found that men with greater hand Grip Strength have a lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction. At first glance, this finding may seem a bit surprising, but a number of studies over the past decade or so have established that hand grip strength is an excellent indicator of overall health, including cardiac function. And the healthier a man is, the more likely he is to enjoy robust erectile function.

“The ability to stay active and independent often begins with our hands. Weak grip strength can limit your enjoyment of many life pleasures, so you need to ensure your hand and grip strength always are up to the task.”
Maria Cole, Physical Therapist
Spaulding Outpatient Center, Boston

According to a November 2016 article posted at Health.Harvard.edu, the natural decline in a man’s hand grip strength usually begins at about age 55. The article’s author suggested that this natural decline may be associated with sarcopenia — the age-related decline in muscle mass. In addition to the natural effects of aging, including sarcopenia, Maria Cole, a physical therapist at Boston’s Spaulding Outpatient Center, says other culprits may include nerve damage or tendinitis in the hands or wrists and diseases like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

“The ability to stay active and independent often begins with our hands,” says Cole. “Weak grip strength can limit your enjoyment of many life pleasures, so you need to ensure your hand and grip strength always are up to the task.” Cole’s take on this issue offers hope that men who actively work at maintaining and even improving their hand grip strength can help to avoid — or at least minimize — erection problems.

What Is Hand Grip Strength?

In an Australian research study into the value of hand grip strength as a predictor of certain health outcomes, the authors noted that hand grip strength “can be quantified by measuring the amount of static force that the hand can squeeze around a dynamometer.” They note that this force is most often measured in pounds and kilograms but can also be expressed in newtons as well as milliliters of mercury.

As might be expected, hand grip strength is a reliable measurement tool when calibrated equipment and standardized methods are followed to measure it. The Australian study’s authors note that methods of positioning patients during measurement and caculating their grip strength differ from one international location to another. In the study, published in a 2011 issue of “BMC Research Notes,” researchers note that the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and the American Society of Hand Therapists have established guidelines that are widely observed by scientists worldwide.

The South Korean Study

Published in December 2017 issue of “Aging Male,” the South Korean study’s stated objective was to explore the link “between hand grip strength and erectile dysfunction in community-dwelling older men.” The study population consisted of 1,770 men enrolled in the Dong-gu Study. Researchers measured study participants’ hand grip strength using a dynamometer and assessed their erectile function using the Korean version of the International Index of Erectile Function, or IIEF.

ED in men with IIEF scores of 13 to 30 was classified as mild to none, while men with scores of 1 to 12 were said to have moderate to severe ED. Nearly half — 48.8 percent — of the study participants were diagnosed with moderate to severe ED. However even within this group, improved hand grip strength was associated with an increase in IIEF scores. And the higher the IIEF score, the less severe is the degree of ED.

The South Korean research team reported that greater hand grip strength was associated with a reduced risk of ED after adjustment for potential confounders. Confounders are factors that can lead to a bias or a distortion in a study. The researchers also concluded that men who regularly engaged in a high level of moderate  to vigorous physical activity experienced a lower risk of developing erection problems.

Hand Grip Strength and Heart Health

A few years back, a large-scale international study looked at the relationship between hand grip strength and the risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death, and death from all causes. Published in a mid-2015 issue of “The Lancet,” the study assessed hand grip strength in a total of nearly 140,000 people in 17 countries enrolled in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. The health of these study participants was then tracked over the next four years. Hand grip strength was assessed using a dynamometer.

Researchers found that each 5-kilogram (11-pound) decrease in hand grip strength was linked to a 16 percent higher risk of dying from any cause and a 17 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease. They also found that this degree of decline in hand grip strength was also related to a 9 percent higher risk of stroke and a 7 percent higher risk of heart attack.

Even after adjustments for other risk factors such as age, exercise, and smoking, researchers found that the association between grip strength and death/disease risk remained strong. They determined that grip strength is in fact a better predictor of cardiovascular disease or death than blood pressure is.

In a news release issued concurrently with the study’s publication, lead author Darryl Leong said that “grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual’s risk of death and cardiovascular disease.” Leong is associated with Canada’s Population Health Research Institute, which is based in Hamilton, Ontario.

What Your Hand Grip Strength Says

In an article posted at TheConversation.com, author Richard Dodds notes that hand grip strength gradually increases during young adulthood, reaching a peak at some point in your 30s. How well we navigate the challenges of aging that follow depends to a large extent on the condition of our muscles, he writes. And hand grip strength is an excellent gauge of muscle strength.

In his overview of typical hand grip strength patterns throughout our life spans, Dodds says that after reaching its peak at some point in our 30s, the next phase of life is generally spent maintaining that strength until midlife, at which point it begins to decline. Typical peak hand grip strengths for men and women are 51 kilograms (about 112 pounds) and 31 kilograms (68 pounds), respectively.

Help for Erection Problems

Although declining hand grip strength can be a predictor of erection problems, you’ll need no dynamometer to tell you when you’re no longer cutting it in the bedroom. A persistent inability to get and keep and erection strong enough for intercourse is a pretty clear sign that you’re suffering from ED.

While there are lifestyle modifications you can make to improve erectile function and in some cases reverse its symptoms, in the meantime you’re likely to need a little outside help. For men whose ED is caused by insufficient blood flow to the penis, the single biggest cause of impotence, that help comes in the form of PDE5 inhibitors, which are oral drugs such as Viagra and Cialis.

Under current U.S. regulations, PDE5 inhibitors are available only by prescription, one of which you can obtain from your doctor. That prescription can then be used to purchase the drug at a local pharmacy or used to place an online order with a reputable facilitator such as eDrugstore.com. You can fax the prescription or scan and email it along with your order to eDrugstore.

If you don’t have a prescription and would prefer to avoid the added cost of a visit to the doctor’s office, eDrugstore can arrange a complimentary online consultation with a member of its team of licensed U.S. physicians. If you qualify as an appropriate candidate for the drug, a prescription will be authorized and the drug — discreetly packaged — will be shipped by eDrugstore to your home. If this approach appeals to you, click below to access eDrugstore’s Erection Problems page.