Relationship between foot-gripping strength and sprint running ability adjusted for factors related to growth

• Published in: Japan Journal of Test and Measurement in Health and Physical Education Vol. 20; pp. 40 - 45
• Main Authors: AOKI, Takumi, ISHII, Kojiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society of Test and Measurement in Health and Physical Education 31.03.2021
• Subjects: children; foot function; growth and development; pedagogy in physical education; sprint running speed
• ISSN: 1347-1309
• DOI: 10.14859/jjtehpe.20.40

The Course of Study for Elementary School, which was revised and announced in March 2017, requires that children learn reasonable and comfortable movements while manipulating their bodies skillfully in the act of running. In recent years, it has been reported that foot-gripping strength is important for sprinting ability, and a number of studies have reported that foot-gripping strength and sprint running ability are related. Therefore, in the present study, we measured the foot-gripping strength and sprint running ability of elementary school students (1st to 6th years), making adjustments for factors related to growth (i.e., height, weight, age, grip strength). The results revealed that foot-gripping strength was significantly correlated with sprint running ability (r = -0.130, p <0.05) even when factors related to development were adjusted with partial correlation analysis. These results suggest that foot-gripping strength affects sprint running ability in children, although not to a great extent.