ABSTRACT
Many jobs still require physical labor for variable portions of a day's work. This chapter describes the role of CPET in evaluating a person's aerobic capacity and estimating what level of work he/she is able to do safely and effectively during an eight-hour day. Doing so requires some degree of knowledge of the rhythm of work intensity encountered (i.e., intensity and frequency of work bouts interspersed with periods of rest). Actual measurements of VO2 or at least heart rate have been used to estimate energy expenditure over a day. Documentation of heart rate correlated with the heart rate from a CPET affords a reasonable estimate of aerobic work. There are established guidelines for many types of physical labor jobs which can be used in conjunction with CPET for two important reasons. First, the results can be used to help direct workers to various types of work. Second, CPET results are important to assess a subject's level of disability after an injury or illness for either determination of compensation or redirection to an appropriate level of physical work.
