The effects of verbal stimulus on performance in stair climbing test and cardiorespiratory adjustments in healthy subjects

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the effects of verbal stimuli (VS) in the time of the Stair climbing Test (SCT) and in the cardiorespiratory variables on healthy adults. Thirty-one healthy adults performed two SCT (with VS and without VS). Before and after each test, vital signs and Borg Scale were evaluated. The times in SCT were compared using the Student's t-test for paired samples, and differences were compared according to the order of the testing using the Mann-Whitney Test. The vital signs and Borg Scale were compared by the Friedman Test or ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey Test. The variations of these variables were compared using the Student's t-test for independent samples or Mann-Whitney Test (p<0.05). The time in the SCT without VS was 23.48±8.28 seconds significantly greater than the test with VS that was 21.60±7.18 seconds (p<0.05). All the variables increased after the tests and the Borg Scale was the one that had more variation in SCT with VS, ranging 2.5±1.4 in the test without VS and 3.0±1.8 points in the test with VS (p<0.05). Verbal stimulation improves performance in TEsc and leads to greater sensation of effort.