The use of the treadmill for assessing exercise-induced asthma and the effect of varying the severity and duration of exercise

Abstract

Running produces a greater amount of post-exercise bronchoconstriction than other forms of exercise carried out a similar metabolic rates. The treadmill can be used to provide a standardized form of exercise when studying the asthmatic child. The severity of post-exercise bronchoconstriction depends upon the rate of working on the treadmill and the duration of exercise. A maximum response is obtained by six minutes of running at an uphill slope of 10% at a speed of 5 kmph (3 mph). Even with this type of test, there is still considerable variation in the response from time to time and greatest reporducibility is obtained by repeating the test within one week. Treadmill exercise tests may be used in the diagnosis of asthma and in the assessment of its likely severity.