Validity and reliability of rating perceived exertion in women with fibromyalgia: exertion-pain discrimination

The present study aimed (1) to assess the validity and reliability of the Borg category-ratio (CR-10) scale for monitoring exercise intensity in women with fibromyalgia (FM) and (2) to examine whether women with FM can discriminate between perceived exertion and exercise-induced pain. Thirty-three women with FM performed two incremental treadmill tests (1 week separated). Heart rate, oxygen uptake, minute ventilation and respiratory quotient were measured. The ratings of perceived exertion (RPE: CR-10 scale) and exercise-induced pain were obtained at each workload. The Spearman’s correlation of RPE with the physiological responses ranged from 0.69 to 0.79. The regression models explained ~50% of the variability of the studied physiological responses. We found “perfect acceptable” agreement in 69% of the observations. Weighted Kappa was 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59-0.72). There were differences between RPE and pain at workloads 3 (1.50; 95%CI: 0.85-2.16), 4 (2.10; 95%CI: 1.23-2.96), 5 (3.40; 95%CI: 1.29-5.51) and 6 (3.97; 95%CI: 1.61-6.33). The main findings of the present study suggest that the Borg CR-10 scale is valid and moderately reliable for monitoring exercise intensity in women with FM, and these patients were able to discriminate between exertion and exercise-induced pain.