The Effects of Gloves on Grip Strength and Muscle Activity

Abstract

The focus of this research was to investigate how grip strength and forearm muscle force were affected by two types of gloves, rubber and leather. Grip strength was significantly less in the two gloved conditions than in a barehanded condition. However, EMG analysis of muscle activity revealed no significant difference in muscle activity across the gloved and barehanded conditions, indicating that subjects generated maximal exertions in all conditions. Therefore, a certain amount of muscle force is lost in the hand-glove interface while producing maximal grip forces in the gloved conditions. Internal muscle force measurement could thus be used to aid in glove selection for submaximal tasks in industry.