Toe Flexor Strength as a Functional Indicator of Sarcopenia in Elderly Women: Pilot Study

This study aimed to compare toe flexor strength (TFS) and handgrip strength (HGS) and to examine their associations with sarcopenia-related variables and lower extremity muscle function in elderly women.METHODS: Twenty-one elderly women (77.1±3.5 years) participated in this study.Participants were classified into low and high groups based on median values of TFS and HGS.Sarcopenia-related variables, including SPPB, gait speed, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass, as well as knee isokinetic strength, were measured.Pearson correlation and ROC analyses were performed, and AUC differences were compared using DeLong's test.RESULTS: TFS was significantly correlated with SPPB (r=0.497),gait speed (r=0.573), and knee isokinetic strength variables (p<.05), whereas HGS showed weaker associations with lower extremity function.The high TFS group demonstrated significantly greater gait speed (p=.018) and knee muscle performance compared to the low TFS group.In ROC analysis, HGS showed the highest AUC (0.683), followed by TFS/BW (0.656) and TFS (0.644), with no significant differences among variables (all p>.05). CONCLUSIONS:Although its diagnostic accuracy is comparable to that of HGS, TFS is more strongly associated with lower extremity function and may serve as a complementary functional indicator of sarcopenia in elderly women.