Relationship of Rated Perceived Exertion to Heart Rate and Workload in Mentally Retarded Young Adults

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the predictive ability of rated perceived exertion (RPE) of mentally retarded (MR) young adults with respect to heart rate (HR) and workload (WL). Subjects were a group of 10 mentally retarded adults (M age = 21.20 yrs, M IQ = 50.5) and a control group of 10 nonretarded adults (M age = 21.18 yrs). The procedure involved the performance of a continuous multistage treadmill test using a modified Balke protocol. Rated perceived exertion and heart rate were recorded after each minute. Correlation coefficients for both RPE/HR and RPE/WL were significant for both groups. Tests for differences in RPE/HR and RPE/WL correlation coefficients between the two groups indicated significance for RPE/HR but none for RPE/WL. Regression analysis revealed that variation in RPE could be explained by variations in HR and WL. The association between rated perceived exertion and heart rate and rated perceived exertion and workload suggests the use of the Borg scale with mentally retarded individuals.

Exertional symptoms and exercise capacity in individuals with brain injury

“…The strength of the relationship between RPE and %APMHR and percent bicycle peak power for the control and B25 group in our study was comparable with findings from earlier studies in individuals with neuromuscular disease (correlation coefficients 0.86 -0.68) [32] and in individuals with learning disability (0.81 -0.62) [33]. Our observed interindividual variability in rating of symptoms in all groups highlights the need to consider subjective symptoms in addition to physiological measures in order to optimise exercise compliance.…”

Competencies for rating perceived exertion in amateur soccer players with and without intellectual disabilities

“…The OMNI Scale differentiates ten levels of exertion ranging from very, very weak (1) to very, very tired (10). Although the traditional Borg Scale has also been shown to provide sound results on RPE in people with intellectual disabilities (Arnold et al, ), the OMNI Scale might be more appropriate, because it further illustrates different grades of exertion by a caricature of a person in different states of exertion. These visual illustrations have been validated for RPE ratings in people with intellectual disabilities by Chen et al ().…”

“…Complying with the procedures from the study of Arnold et al (), correlations between heart rate and RPE were analysed by two different procedures. To determine each individual's competence for RPE, linear regression analyses were performed on the RPE and heart rate data normalized to HRpeak for each participant.…”

“…However, other authors reported that the ability to rate physical exertion indeed depends on the cognitive development status (Groslambert & Mahon, ; Rodriguez, Zambrano, & Manterola, ). Arnold, Ng, and Pechar () showed that the coefficients of the correlations between RPE and heart rate are significantly lower for people with intellectual disabilities than for people without intellectual disabilities. The results contradict each other, probably because mild cognitive impairment and intellectual disability have multiple manifestations.…”

Brief report: Exploring the benefits of a peer‐tutored physical education programme among high school students with intellectual disability

“…Students were asked to answer one question, “How was your workout?”, rating their perceived overall exertion on a verbally level‐anchored scale with numbers from 0 (Nothing at all) to 10 (Extremely strong). In people with intellectual disability, the subjective perception of exertion was reported to be positively and significantly related to heart rate and workload, showing that people with intellectual disability can accurately perceive physical exertion at submaximal levels (Arnhold, Ng, & Pechar, ).…”