Physiological cost of walking at self selected and matched speeds in those with ME/CFS: a pilot study
Drs Lorna Paul and Les Wood
Investigator
Dr Lorna Paul
Institution
School of Health and Social Care, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
Aims
Many of the studies investigating metabolic costs of activity in those with ME/CFS have focused on exercise tolerance and/or capacity using treadmills or bicycle ergometers with subjects exercising to exhaustion. However, one of the main problems experienced everyday for those with the illness is not that they are unable to undertake strenuous exercise but that they are unable to walk and get around. We have previously demonstrated those with ME/CFS have a significantly different gait pattern compared with healthy subjects when both groups are walking at their preferred or self-selected walking speed, and we have also been studying the gait patterns of younger people following stroke, showing that when the distance walked was taken into consideration the stroke subjects suffered from a significantly higher metabolic cost of walking compared with controls. Our aims are therefore to examine the cost of overground walking of both those with ME/CFS and a group of matched controls, and to compare the oxygen consumption per unit distance.
Methods
The method will follow that of the previous study with younger stroke patients and will be a comparison between 12 subjects with ME/CFS and 12 healthy, matched controls. A COSMED K4b2 gas analysis system will be used to measure the percentage of expired oxygen during free walking. Heart rate will measured using a Polar heart-rate monitor and gait speed and distance will be recorded with a standard stop-watch and a lap-counter. If differences in the physiological cost of walking at self-selected and matched speeds are found, the underlying causes (e.g., neuropathic, osteopathic changes) will require further investigation.
