In sports and particularly exercise testing, the Borg RPE Scale measures perceived exertion. In medicine this is used to document the patient's exertion

Exertion

Exertion is a concept describing the use of physical or perceived energy. It normally connotates a strenuous or costly effort related to physical, muscular, philosophical actions and work.-Physical:...

 during a test, and sports coaches use the scale to assess the intensity of training and competition. The original scale introduced by Gunnar Borg rated exertion on a scale of 6-20. Borg then constructed a category (C) ratio (R) scale, the Borg CR10 Scale. This is especially used in clinical diagnostic of breathlessness and dyspnea, chest pain, angina and musculo-skeletal pain.

The Borg scale can be compared to other linear scales such as the Likert scale

Likert scale

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such that the term is often used interchangeably with rating scale, or more accurately the Likert-type scale, even though...

 or a visual analogue scale

Visual Analogue Scale

A visual analogue scale is a psychometric response scale which can be used in questionnaires. It is a measurement instrument for subjective characteristics or attitudes that cannot be directly measured. When responding to a VAS item, respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement by...

. The sensitivity and reproducibility of the results are broadly very similar, although the Borg may outperform the Likert scale in some cases.

External links

• Information about Gunnar Borg PhD MD hc. at Department of Psychology, Stockholm University
• More detailed description of the Borg scale at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention