ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2020
Rating of Perceived Effort: Methodological Concerns and Future Directions.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Monitoring Internal Load in Women's Basketball via Subjective and Device-Based Methods: A Systematic Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Pooled it
- Accuracy in Predicting Repetitions to Task Failure in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Elevated Perceived Exertion in People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: A Meta-analysis.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2020Pooled it
- Positive effects of functional electrical stimulation-assisted cycling on perception of effort, cerebral blood flow, and cognition in post-stroke patients.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- The Effect of Proximity-To-Failure on Perceptual Responses to Resistance Training.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Elevated muscle pain induced by a hypertonic saline injection reduces power output independent of physiological changes during fixed perceived effort cycling.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Trial
- Comparison of finger flexor resistance training, with and without blood flow restriction, on perceptional and physiological responses in advanced climbers.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Optimizing the Interaction of Exercise Volume and Metformin to Induce a Clinically Significant Reduction in Metabolic Syndrome Severity: A Randomised Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Nature immersion in virtual reality has limited hypoalgesia effects for muscle pain or motor performance benefits during prescribed and self-regulated tasks.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- A Hitchhiker's Guide to Physical and Cognitive Effort.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Feasibility of a field-based submaximal stair ascent test for estimating aerobic capacity and lower-limb strength in middle-aged and older adults.Clinical physiology and functional imaging · 2026Article
- Contralateral Thermal Pain and Naturally Occurring Muscle Pain Have Different Effects on Force Production During a Fixed Perceived Effort Handgrip Task.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Modifying the Meaning of the Upper Anchor Predictably Shapes Ratings of Perceived Effort: A Randomized Crossover Trial.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Perceived exertion reflects exercise-induced pain rather than psychological characteristics in recreational endurance athletes.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Task Failure in Endurance Sports: A Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- The Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Mental Fatigue Scale in Turkish Athletes.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Comparison of affective responses between an online and in-person high-intensity functional training session in sports students.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Incongruent virtual reality cycling exercise demonstrates a role of perceived effort in cardiovascular control.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- On Your Mark, Get Set, Choose! A Randomized Cross-Over Study Comparing Fixed and Self-Selected Rest Periods in Interval Running Among Professional Female Soccer Players.Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- Influence of Training Load on Muscle Contractile Properties in Semi-Professional Female Soccer Players Across a Competitive Microcycle: A Pilot Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Rating of perceived effort (RPE) scales are the most frequently used single-item scales in exercise science. They offer an easy and useful way to monitor and prescribe exercise intensity. However, RPE scales suffer from methodological limitations stemming from multiple perceived effort definitions and measurement strategies. In the present review, we attend these issues by covering (1) two popular perceived effort definitions, (2) the terms included within these definitions and the reasons they can impede validity, (3) the problems associated with using different effort scales and instructions, and (4) measuring perceived effort from specific body parts and the body as a whole. We pose that the large number of interactions between definitions, scales, instructions and applications strategies, threatens measurement validity of RPE. We suggest two strategies to overcome these limitations: (1) to reinforce consistency by narrowing the number of definitions of perceived effort, the number of terms included within them, and the number of scales and instructions used. (2) Rather than measuring solely RPE as commonly done, exercise sciences will benefit from incorporating other single-item scales that measure affect, fatigue and discomfort, among others. By following these two recommendations, we expect the field will increase measurement validity and become more comprehensive.
Indexed as
Identifiers
31745731What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.