The relationship between ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and relative strength for a fatiguing dynamic upper extremity task: A consideration of multiple cycles and conditions

The goal of this study was to evaluate the relationship between ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and relative strength with respect to baseline for a fatiguing free dynamic task targeting the upper extremity, namely simulated order picking, and determine whether the relationship remains the same for different conditions (i.e., pace and weight) and with fatigue. Fourteen participants (seven males, seven females) performed four sessions that included two 45-min work periods separated by 15 min of rest. The work periods involved picking weighted bottles from shoulder height and packaging them at waist height for four combinations of bottle mass and picking rate: 2.5 kg–15 bottles per minute (bpm), 2.5 kg–10 bpm, 2.5 kg–5 bpm, and 1.5 kg–15 bpm. Participants reported their RPEs every 5 min and performed a maximum isometric shoulder flexion exertion every 9 min. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to evaluate the linear relationship between RPE and relative strength for each subject and work period. Then, the effects of condition and work period on the average relationship were assessed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). For the first 45-min period, there were no significantly different correlations between RPE and relative strength across conditions (average r = −0.62 (standard deviation = 0.38); p = 0.57). There was a significant decrease in average correlation for the second work period (r = −0.39 (0.53)). These results suggest that individual subjective responses consistently increase while relative strength declines when starting from a non-fatigued state. However, correlations are weaker when re-engaging in work following incomplete recovery. Thus, starting fatigue levels should be accounted for when considering the expected relationship between RPE and relative strength.