Teaching · Related Services

Three trials a hand,
the same way every time.

Record each dynamometer session with the setup, the standard seated position and three trials per hand. The mean, the spread of the trials and the ratio between hands are worked out for you, and each student’s sessions line up so change over time is easy to see.

Record a sessionWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Related Services toolkit, $99 for 96 items.

Sessions

The worked example is made up: one student measured in September and November, and another whose left-hand trials spread widely. Sessions save on this device only, under student codes.

Loading the session form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Related Services$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A session per student and date with age, dominant hand, instrument, handle position and units; a seven-point position checklist; three grip trials per hand and optional key pinch; notes; the mean of three trials, coefficient of variation and dominant to nondominant comparison; first-to-latest means by student.
Who it is for
School occupational and physical therapists, and the assistants and students in training who measure hand strength for school-based services.
Format
Browser log with a saved session per student per date. Prints a session, all sessions or a blank record sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Related Services toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Related Services space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Set up the chair and instrument the same way as last time.
  2. Work down the position checklist before the first trial.
  3. Alternate hands for three trials each, with a short rest between.
  4. Type the trials; the means and spread appear in the follow-up list.
  5. Compare the student’s sessions in the side panel and print for the team.

Record a session

Position before numbers

The standard seated positionShoulder at the sideElbow at 90 degreesForearm thumb-up, wristslightly extendedFeet flat, back supportedEvery sessionSame handle positionSame instructionMean of 3 trialsThe standard seated positionShoulder at sideElbow 90 degreesThumb upFeet flat
Change the position and you change the number. The checklist in each session is there so a rise in strength is the student’s, not the chair’s.

What the numbers can and cannot say

A mean of three trials, measured the same way, can be compared with the same student’s earlier sessions. This organizer does not compare students with published norms or give percentiles: norms depend on the instrument, protocol and sample, and choosing them is the therapist’s professional call.

Reading the spread

The coefficient of variation shows how far the three trials sit from their mean. A wide spread often has an ordinary cause: a shifted elbow, a new instruction, fatigue or a grip on the handle that changed. It is a reason to look again, never a judgment about effort.

Sources

  1. American Society of Hand Therapists. Clinical Assessment Recommendations (3rd ed., 2015): grip strength position and procedure.
  2. Mathiowetz, V., Weber, K., Volland, G., & Kashman, N. (1984). Reliability and validity of grip and pinch strength evaluations. Journal of Hand Surgery, 9(2), 222–226.
  3. Roberts, H. C., et al. (2011). A review of the measurement of grip strength in clinical and epidemiological studies: towards a standardised approach. Age and Ageing, 40(4), 423–429.
  4. American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (4th ed.).

The worked example is made up. This organizer records measurements; it does not interpret them against norms, diagnose or set goals. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.