Borg Scale

1. Dr. Tarpan Shah. MPT (CPD&ICU care)
Vice Principal & Asst.Prof
Shree Swaminarayan Physiotherapy
college

2. Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
• The Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE)
scale is an objective measure of fatigue.
• This scale can also be used to monitor exercise
intensity.

3. • The patient is asked to rate his fatigue with a
number on the scale based on his perception
of the difficulty of the activity.
• Based on this determination of exertion, he
monitors exercise intensity to reach a target
intensity.

4. • There are two RPE scales currently in use. The
older scale rates exercise intensity on a scale
of 6 to 20; the newer scale rates exercise
intensity on a scale of 0 to 10.
• The latter was developed to simplify terms
and make the scale easier to understand.

5. • It has been determined that a training effect
can be achieved by exercising at a level of
somewhat hard (13 to 16 on the older scale)
or somewhat strong(4 to 5 on the newer
scale).

6. • The RPE method of monitoring exercise
intensity is useful for patients who have
difficulty palpating their pulse and those for
whom monitoring HR isn't a reliable indicator
of exercise intensity, such as patients taking
medications that affect HR and those with
cardiac transplants, silent ischemia, or severe
left ventricular dysfunction.

7. • An obese patient who is unable to monitor his
own pulse could be taught to correlate his
perceived level of exertion on the scale with
his HR as determined by cardiac monitoring.
• After practicing several times, this patient may
be able to reliably determine his target HR as
a level on the RPE scale.

8. The Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale, an objective method of rating fatigue, can be
used to monitor exercise intensity. Two RPE scales are currently used.
Original 15-grade scale
6 No exertion at all
7 Extremely light
8
9 Very light
10
11 Light
12
13 Somewhat hard
14
15 Hard (heavy)
16
17 Very hard
18
19 Extremely hard
20 Maximal exertion

9. Revised 10-grade scale
0 Nothing at all
0.5 Very, very light (just noticeable)
1 Very weak
2 Weak (light)
3 Moderate
4 Somewhat strong
5 Strong (heavy)
6
7 Very strong
89
10 Extremely strong (maximal)

10. REFERENCES
• Adapted from Borg, G. An Introduction to
Borg's RPE Scale. Ithaca, N.Y.: Movement
Publications, 1985.