Hand strength measurements are of interest to study pathology of the hand that involves loss of muscle strength. Examples of these pathologies are carpal tunnel syndrome, nerve injury, tendon injuries of the hand, and neuromuscular disorders. Hand strength testing is frequently used for clinical decision-making and outcome evaluation in evidence based medicine. It is used to diagnose diseases, to evaluate and compare treatments, to document progression of muscle strength, and to provide feedback during the rehabilitation process. In addition, strength testing is often used in areas such as sports medicine and ergonomics. In general, hand strength measurements can be divided into manual muscle testing and dynamometry.

In clinical practice, hand muscles are most often evaluated using manual muscle strength testing using the Medical Research Council (MRC) Scale. In this scale, muscle strength is graded on a scale from 0 to 5. For evaluating the strength of the intrinsic hand muscles, a small modification to the standard MRC grading has been made so that grade 3 indicates ‘full active range of motion’ as compared to ‘movement against gravity’:

Vincent Paul Young, Jr. (born May 18, 1983), nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He played college football at The University of Texas. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Titans. In his rookie season, Young was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned a roster spot on the AFC Pro Bowl team. In 2009, Young earned his second Pro Bowl Selection and was named Sporting News NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011.

As a junior in college, Young finished second behind Reggie Bush in the voting for the Heisman Trophy (though Bush later vacated the award). He won the Davey O'Brien Award which is given annually to the best collegiate quarterback in the nation. Following the Heisman voting, Young led his team to a BCS National Championship against the defending BCS national champion, University of Southern California, in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The game was called one of the most-anticipated games in the history of college football. Texas retired Young's jersey on August 30, 2008.