The test-retest reliability of physiological and perceptual responses during treadmill load carriage

Danielle M Vickery-Howe; Ben J Dascombe; Anthea C Clarke; Jace R Drain; Minh Huynh; Kane J Middleton

doi:10.1007/s00421-024-05435-0

The test-retest reliability of physiological and perceptual responses during treadmill load carriage

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2024 Feb 28. doi: 10.1007/s00421-024-05435-0. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Danielle M Vickery-Howe¹, Ben J Dascombe^{2

3}, Anthea C Clarke¹, Jace R Drain⁴, Minh Huynh¹, Kane J Middleton⁵

Affiliations

¹ Sport, Performance, and Nutrition Research Group, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
² School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, Australia.
³ Applied Sport Science and Exercise Testing Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia.
⁴ Human and Decision Sciences Division, Defence Science and Technology Group, Fishermans Bend, Australia.
⁵ Sport, Performance, and Nutrition Research Group, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. K.Middleton@latrobe.edu.au.

PMID: 38418703
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-024-05435-0

Abstract

Purpose: Understanding the test-retest reliability of physiological responses to load carriage influences the interpretation of those results. The aim of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of physiological measures during loaded treadmill walking at 5.5 km h^-1 using the MetaMax 3B.

Methods: Fifteen Australian Army soldiers (9 male, 6 female) repeated two 12-min bouts of treadmill walking at 5.5 km h^-1 in both a 7.2 kg Control condition (MetaMax 3B, replica rifle) and a 23.2 kg Patrol condition (Control condition plus vest) across three sessions, separated by one week. Expired respiratory gases and heart rate were continuously collected, with the final 3 min of data analysed. Ratings of Perceived Exertion and Omnibus-Resistance Exercise Scale were taken following each trial. Reliability was quantified by coefficient of variation (CV), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), smallest worthwhile change (SWC), and standard error of the measurement.

Results: Metabolic and cardiovascular variables were highly reliable (≤ 5% CV; excellent-moderate ICC), while the respiratory variables demonstrated moderate reliability (< 8% CV; good-moderate ICC) across both conditions. Perceptual ratings had poorer reliability during the Control condition (12-45% CV; poor ICC) than the Patrol condition (7-16% CV; good ICC).

Conclusions: The test-retest reliability of metabolic and cardiovascular variables was high and relatively consistent during load carriage. Respiratory responses demonstrated moderate test-retest reliability; however, as the SWC differed with load carriage tasks, such data should be interpreted independently across loads. Perceptual measures demonstrated poor to moderate reliability during load carriage, and it is recommended that they only be employed as secondary measures.

Keywords: Heart rate; MetaMax; Military; Repeatability; Walking.

Grants and funding

Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship/Australian Government