REPRODUCIBILITY OF THE CARDIOPULMONARY EXERCISE TEST WITH ELASTIC RESISTANCE APPLIED IN OLDER ADULTS AND ELDERLY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31501/rbcm.v33i1.15207Abstract
The cardiopulmonary exercise test with elastic resistance is a low-cost incremental test proposal that presents specificity with a running/walking training program with elastic resistance and good reproducibility when applied to healthy young people. This study evaluated the reproducibility of cardiopulmonary exercise test with elastic resistance in older adults and elderly people. 36 people (30 to 65 years old; 7 men) were evaluated. Each participant performed two incremental tests in which they performed a movement alternating steps, following the rhythm of a metronome, tied to an elastic resistance, on a rubber mat with 8 stages. This test was applied twice with an interval of 7 days between them. A verification phase of maximum oxygen uptake was also carried out and primary and secondary criteria were applied to identify ventilatory thresholds. No significant differences were found in the test vs. retest comparison for the variables: oxygen consumption, heart rate, ventilation, cadence, test time, and lactate; in the intensities of ventilatory thresholds and maximum effort (p ≥ 0.05), with an effect size ranging from negligible to small, except for lactate (effect size = 0.34 – moderate). The intraclass correlation coefficient for oxygen consumption and heart rate was very high to high at all intensities, with low values for minimal detectable difference and standard error of measurement. The cardiopulmonary exercise test with elastic resistance showed high reproducibility in older adults and elderly people, making it possible to identify submaximal and maximum parameters.