Use of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to Prescribe Exercise intensity for Wheelchair-Bound Children and Adults

Seventeen individuals (ages 11-30 years), all wheelchair users, were classified as active or sedentary. Peak mechanical power, heart rate (HR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were determined during continuous, incremental all-out arm ergometry. Subjects were asked to wheel on an oval track at prescribed speeds, and one month later they repeated this task. All subjects could distinguish among prescriptions, as judged from HR and wheeling velocities. However, the active subjects chose higher speeds (by 0.81.3 m/s), a wider range of speeds, and could better distinguish among sequential RPE levels than did the sedentary subjects. All subjects chose wheeling velocities higher than expected from their originally established HR-onRPE regression. One-month retention was high and similar between groups. Individuals who use wheelchairs can discriminate among wheeling intensities as prescribed using the RPE scale and have excellent retention for at least one month.