“Get a grip”这句成语的意思是“控制住自己”。最近，包括“悬垂”和“农夫行走”在内的训练，以及握力器挤压练习的流行，表明有人开始按字面意思理解这句建议。
“Get a grip” goes the idiom. Lately, the fashion for exercises including “dead hangs” and “farmer’s carries”, and for squeezing hand grippers, suggests that some are taking the advice literally.
可能的诱因是2015年《柳叶刀》上一项引人注目的研究，该研究将握力与长寿联系起来。研究人员在17个国家追踪了139,691人，平均时长为四年，发现握力每下降5公斤，因任何原因死亡的风险就增加16%。对于心血管疾病死亡，这一数字为17%。他们发现，握力比收缩压更能预测这两种风险。
The likely trigger was a headline-grabbing study in the Lancet in 2015 that associated grip strength with longer life. Following 139,691 people in 17 countries for an average of four years, the researchers linked every 5kg decrease in grip strength with a 16% higher risk of death from any cause. For cardiovascular death, the figure was 17%. Grip strength, they found, was a better predictor of both than systolic blood pressure.
遗憾的是，仅靠定期的握力练习不太可能延长寿命。然而，它们可能是监测整体健康状况的好方法。俄亥俄大学生理学家布莱恩·克拉克指出，肌肉处于神经指挥链的末端，是“提线木偶”。要产生力量，大脑必须持续产生电信号，并通过神经传递给肌肉。如果任何一个环节出现故障，力量就会受损。
Alas, regular grip exercises alone are unlikely to lengthen your life. They may, however, be a good way of monitoring your overall health. Muscles, notes Brian Clark, a physiologist at Ohio University, are “puppets” at the end of a neurological chain of command. To generate force, electrical signals must be continuously generated by the brain and transmitted to the muscles by nerves. If any part falters, strength suffers.
挤压动作之所以特别能反映问题，在于其复杂性。要产生有力的握力，大脑必须协调控制手和手腕的39块肌肉。这种协调在神经学层面极具挑战性，这有助于解释为什么手指合握产生的力量，小于每根手指单独发力之和。值得注意的是，一项发表于2024年《老年临床与实验研究》杂志上、针对老年人的小规模实验显示，认知测试得分较低的参与者，这种力量亏损更大。
What makes a squeeze especially revealing is its complexity. To produce a firm grip, the brain must co-ordinate a system of 39 muscles controlling the hand and wrist. Such orchestration is neurologically taxing, which helps explain why fingers clenching together produce less force than the sum of what each can muster alone. Tellingly, in a small experiment with older people, published in 2024 in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, this shortfall in force was greater among participants with lower scores on a cognitive test.
这引出了另一个引人入胜的可能性。布鲁塞尔自由大学衰老研究员伊万·鲍特曼斯表示，握力减弱也可能预示着认知能力下降。鲍特曼斯博士认为，简便廉价的力量测试能提供宝贵的早期预警。请看他合著的一项荟萃分析，于6月发表，考察了60项涉及约38万人的观察性研究。在随访期为1至22年的各项研究中，握力较强的参与者出现认知能力下降的可能性低19%。
This raises another intriguing possibility. A weakening grip, says Ivan Bautmans, a researcher on ageing at Vrije University in Brussels, can also foreshadow cognitive decline. Dr Bautmans believes that easy and inexpensive strength tests could provide a valuable early warning . Consider a meta-analysis he co-authored, published in June, that examined 60 observational studies involving around 380,000 people. Across studies with follow-up periods ranging from 1 to 22 years, participants with stronger grips were 19% less likely to experience cognitive decline.
握力不对称或许是另一个有用的指标。惯用手比非惯用手强大约10%属于常见现象，但差距过大可能暗示问题。4月发表的一项荟萃分析汇总了9项涉及约90万人的队列研究，部分参与者随访多年。双手力量差异显著的参与者，死于心血管疾病的风险高29%，这或许是因为神经系统问题也会损害对心脏和血管的控制。研究人员主张，对比双手握力能揭示单手测试可能遗漏的细微神经肌肉问题。
Grip asymmetry may be another useful measurement. Having a dominant hand that is roughly 10% stronger than the weaker hand is common, but larger gaps can be telling. A meta-analysis published in April pooled nine cohort studies involving around 900,000 people, some followed for many years. Participants whose hands differed markedly in strength had a 29% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, perhaps because problems with the nervous system can also impair control of the heart and blood vessels. Comparing both hands, the researchers argue, can reveal subtle neuromuscular problems that testing just one might miss.
这可能与大脑的功能分工有关。每只手主要由大脑对侧半球控制，神经退行性变往往不对称进展。鲍特曼斯博士警告，当一只手的力量减弱至另一只手的一半时，这种衰退可能正在加速。
The brain’s division of labour may be responsible. Each hand is chiefly controlled by the brain’s opposite hemisphere, and neurological deterioration often progresses unevenly. When one hand weakens to half the strength of the other, Dr Bautmans warns, that decline may be accelerating.
有必要提醒：握力弱或不对称并非诊断结果。但它可以提示需要进一步检查。至于热衷握力锻炼的人，研究表明，全身肌肉的抗阻训练有助于保持头脑敏锐。请坚持锻炼。■
A word of caution is in order: a weak or lopsided grip is no diagnosis. It can, though, suggest that further checks are warranted. As for enthusiasts for grip exercises, research has shown resistance training of muscles across the body can help keep the mind sharp. Hang in there.■