Reliability of walking endurance with an incremental treadmill test

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Clinical Measurement
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Treadmill walking endurance is a key outcome in intermittent claudication studies.
• The measurement properties of this test require thorough documentation.
• Reliability is crucial for accurate interpretation of intervention effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the test-retest reliability of treadmill walking endurance.
• To evaluate the measurement properties of an incremental treadmill test protocol.
• To determine the reliability in a cohort of healthy young adults.

Main Methods:

• Ten healthy subjects (mean age 27.5 years) underwent four treadmill tests.
• A standard incremental protocol was used, increasing intensity every 90 seconds.
• A truncated protocol was also tested for short-interval retest reliability.

Main Results:

• High test-retest reliability was observed with the standard protocol (r ≥ 0.98).
• Excellent reliability was found for the truncated protocol (r = 0.99).
• Within-subject standard deviations were low, averaging 23 seconds (2.1%).

Conclusions:

• The incremental treadmill test demonstrates high reliability for measuring walking endurance in young, healthy individuals.
• Findings support the use of this test in intervention studies.
• Consideration of reliability limits is essential when interpreting results.