Ratings of perceived exertion in an incremental test in elderly women

Although the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is used in the evaluation and prescription of physical activity for the elderly, some subjects might find it hard tounderstand the Borg scale. This study aimed to verify whether elderly women could notice, associate, and report changes in physical effort using the perceived exertion scale in response to a stress test. We also aimed to verify the possibility of predicting a respiratory compensation point (RCP) using the Borg scale. Twenty six elderly women took a stress test on a treadmill, with ergospirometry and ECG monitoring and RPE in a ramp protocol. Based on the RPEs for different exercise intensities (low, moderate, high), we assessed the women's perception, association, and report of changes in physical effort. Eight subjects (30.77%) did not notice, associate or report changes in effort using RPE. For those who did, the percentage of maximum workload at the moment of RPE 13 (69.92 ± 10,30) and 14 (78.90 ± 11,00) did not differ significantly from the one at the moment of RCP (75.45 ± 9.65). We conclude that some elderly women may have difficulties noticing, associating and reporting changes in physical effort using the Borg scale. However, for those who do not have any difficulty, RPE 13 and 14 coincide with the RCP.