of non-occupational or recreational injuries [2]. As the
majority of the casualties of this study stated that they
had more than ten years experience in using these tools
at the time of the incident, experience seems not to be a
protective factor as was previously shown for other
power tool-related injuries [5,20].
As described in detail in a previous paper, anatomic
location of most injuries was radial-sided (thumb, index
or long-finger were affected in 88% of injuries to one
finger, in 88% of injuries to two fingers, and in all injuries
to three fingers) [11]. Therefore, isometric grip or
pinch strength tests evaluating the radial aspect of the
hand were employed.
Available information regarding the effect of handedness
on isometric grip or pinch strength differences of
the right and left hands is inconsistent. While some
researchers state that handedness does affect the grip
and pinch strength ratio, others report that grip or
pinch strength is not or only weakly lateralized [22-24].
To conclude, there is no generally acceptance in literature
of the so-called 10% rule (difference in hand
strength attributed to hand dominance, with the right