Cardiopulmonary Responses, Muscle Soreness, and Injury During the One Repetition Maximum Assessment in Pulmonary Rehabilitation Patients

Purpose: The safety of one repetition maximum (1RM) testing for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been determined. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of abnormal cardiopulmonary responses, muscle soreness, and muscle injury of patients with moderate to severe COPD in response to 1RM testing.

Methods: Twenty pulmonary rehabilitation patients (11 women and 9 men) with moderate or severe COPD participated in this investigation. The 1RM testing was performed using the parallel squat and incline press. Blood pressure, heart rate dyspnea ratings, and oxygen saturation responses were measured immediately following the 1RM procedure. Ratings of muscle soreness and injury were measured immediately after 1RM testing and on days 2 and 7.

Results: No injury, significant muscle soreness, or abnormal cardiopulmonary responses occurred as a result of 1RM testing. No gender differences were found for any variable measured in response to 1RM testing.

Conclusions: A properly supervised and screened pulmonary rehabilitation population can be 1RM tested without significant muscle soreness, injury, or abnormal cardiopulmonary responses.