Layout 1 Handgrip strength of skiers Eur J Transl Myol 35 (2) 13591, 2025 doi: 10.4081/ejtm.2025.13591 Dear Editor, We read with interest the article by Burtscher et al. on hand grip strength measured with a hand dynamometer at var- ious locations along Tyrolean ski slopes in 757 recreational skiers compared to 1021 community residents.1 Most of the male subjects and half of the female subjects had higher grip strength of the dominant hand compared to the control subjects.1 The grip strength of the skiers decreased with age to a similar extent as that of the reference population. The relative grip strength correlated positively with phys- ical activity and the number of skiing days per year and negatively with body weight.1 It was concluded that hand grip strength is related to the type, amount and intensity of regular physical activity and that the results support rec- ommendations for training or rehabilitation.1 The study is noteworthy, but several points should be discussed. The first point is that grip strength highly depends on the skier’s ability and the difficulty of the slopes they are tackling. Variety skiers have to make more of an effort than skiers who only use blue slopes. The grip strength certainly also depends on the quality of the slopes; bumpy slopes are more demanding for the hand than car- pet-smooth slopes. As these points were not included in the analysis, the results may be unreliable and could lead to misinterpretations. The second point is that there may be a difference between recreational skiers who engage in additional recreational sports, physical activity or systematic training and those who only ski. As long as these additional factors that in- fluence grip strength are not included in the analysis, the results remain biased and are not meaningful. The third point is that the control group (community res- idents) was not precisely defined. The people forming the control group may have different physical conditions depending on their daily activities, occupation, frequency of leisure activities and hobbies. If the group of community residents includes locksmiths, construc- tion workers and steel workers, the analysis will yield different results than if the control group includes ware- house workers, truck drivers, forklift drivers, or cab driv- ers. Until the control groups are better defined and se- lected, the results obtained in comparison to skiers will remain questionable. The fourth point is that the duration of skiing per year was also not well defined, because skiing is not the same as skiing. One can ski 2 hours per day or the whole day from the opening of the lifts to their closing. It is there- fore advisable to include this duration of skiing per day in the analysis. The fifth point is that grip strength can also depend heavily on a skier’s state of health and therefore medical history. Skiers with chronic conditions, such as immuno- logical, endocrinological or malignant diseases, may have different grip strengths depending on their general fitness. The sixth point is that muscle strength also depends on current medications. Since several medications can be muscle toxic and potentially affect muscle architecture and performance, it would have been imperative to ask all participants about their current medications. How many of the included subjects were taking statins, anti- rheumatic or anti-inflammatory drugs such as D-pen- icllamine, chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, colchicine, interferon, cyclosporine, glucocorticoids, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), recreational drugs such as cocaine, her- oin, amphetamine, PCP and ETOH cau, or procainamide, amiodarone or Epsilon-Aminocaproic Acid (EACA)? The seventh point is that skiing is a sport that mainly in- volves the legs, so it would have been advisable to ex- amine the lower limbs rather than the upper limbs. In summary, grip strength depends on so many factors that a definitive conclusion can only be drawn when these factors are taken into account in the analysis. Ethical approval and consent for participation Not applicable. Funding None received. Key Words: fitness, handgrip strength skiers, physical exercise, dynamometer. Eur J Transl Myol 35 (2) 13591, 2025 doi: 10.4081/ejtm.2025.13591 Handgrip strength of skiers is not an ideal biomarker of a person’s fitness Josef Finsterer Neurology Department, Neurology & Neurophysiology Center, Vienna, Austria. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. - 151 - Handgrip strength of skiers Eur J Transl Myol 35 (2) 13591, 2025 doi: 10.4081/ejtm.2025.13591 Availability of data and material All data are available from the corresponding author Conflict of interest The author delcares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Corresponding author Josef Finsterer, Postfach 20, 1180 Vienna, Austria. Tel. +43.1.5861075 - Fax. +43.1.5861075. ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2839-7305 E-mail: fifigs1@yahoo.de References 1. Burtscher J, Strasser B, Ruedl G, et al. Hand-grip strength in recreational downhill skiers: a comparison to normative reference values. Eur J Transl Myol 2024;34:13021. Disclaimer All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their af- filiated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. Submitted: 6 January 2025. Accepted: 8 January 2025. Early access: 2 April 2025. - 152 -