Comparison of Cardio Respiratory Responses and Level of Exertion Following two Common tests for Arm Exercise Capacity in Patients with COPD Baidya Sumana1, Coppieters W Michel2, Solomen Subin3, Aaron Pravin4 1Department of Physiotherapy, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre, Nepal 2Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 3EMS Memorial Cooperative Hospital and Research Centre, Perinthalmanna, Kerala, India 4Faculty of Physiotherapy, Padmashree Institute of Physiotherapy, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India *Corresponding author: Sumana Baidya, Department of Physiotherapy, Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre, Nepal
Online published on 16 January, 2018. Abstract Unsupported arm exercise capacity has been measured in various ways. Commonly used unsupported arm exercise tests include the ‘six minute peg board ring test’ (PBRT) and ‘unsupported upper limb exercise test’ (UULEX). It is unknown whether these tests elicit comparable cardio-respiratory responses and level of exertion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study aimed to evaluate whether the tests result in comparable or different cardio-respiratory responses and arm fatigue in patients with COPD. Twenty-five patients with COPD randomly performed the PBRT and UULEX with a rest of thirty minutes between two tests. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) were measured before and after each test. Immediately after each test, participants rated their perceived rate of exertion for arm fatigue and sensation of dyspnoea using modified Borg scale. Statistical analysis included repeated-measures analysis of variance and post-hoc Duncan tests. The increase in cardiac variables was not different between the two tests (SBP: p=0.917; DBP: p=0.588 and HR: p=0.764). Dyspnoea ratings and level of exertion were larger following UULEX compared to PBRT (p=0.006 and p=0.026, respectively). The cardiac responses after both tests were comparable, but respiratory responses (RR and dyspnoea) and arm fatigue were triggered more easily with UULEX. Although future studies on larger samples are recommended, findings of this study should be taken into consideration when selecting tests for arm capacity in patients with COPD. PBRT and UULEX result comparable cardiac responses, but different respiratory responses and arm fatigue. Top Keywords Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, upper limb fatigue, unsupported arm exercise test. Top |