Gosling, Cameron McRae (1996) Development of an incremental step test that accounts for lower limb length for people undergoing rehabilitation. Research Master thesis, Victoria University of Technology.

Abstract

This study developed a multi-stage step test for the prediction of VO2peak in people with low tolerance to exercise. The aim was to develop a simple and safe protocol, that accounted for differences in statute height and is suitable for use in exercise rehabilitation. The step height (Hstep) was determined as 0.125 x the subject's height (Hsubject. People undergoing physical and psychological rehabilitation (n=23) were compared to a normal group (n=28), not undergoing rehabilitation. The symptom-limited step test began at a low cadence (14 cycles per minute, c.min-1) and increased by 4 c.min-1 to VO2peak. Peak values for rehabilitation subjects for VO2 and heart rate were 27.8 ± 6.2 ml.kg-1.min-1 and 168 ± 21 b.min-1, respectively. The corresponding peak values for normal subjects were 36.5 ± 6.8 ml.kg-1 .min-1 and 180 ± 15 b.min-1, respectively. Five variables were entered into multiple quadratic regressions, to generate algorithms for the prediction of submaximal and peak VO2: age, sex, weight, time and heart rate. Three algorithms were produced "All", "Normal" and "Rehabilitation". They explained 90%, 91% and 94% of the variation in results (r2 =0.90, 0.91, 0.94), with standard errors of 2.86, 2.72 and 2.04 ml.kg-1.min-1, respectively. It is envisaged that the test will be used to predict functional capacity in people undergoing exercise rehabilitation.

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