Borg RPE scale
Borg built the 6–20 scale so that the number, multiplied by ten, would land near the heart rate of a healthy adult at that effort. It is the cheapest intensity measure in rehab and the only one that keeps working on a beta blocker.
Borg’s original 6–20 scale. The numbers are not arbitrary: multiplied by ten they approximate the heart rate of a healthy adult at that effort.
Somewhat hard
- Borg 6–20
- 13
- Category-ratio 0–10
- 4
- ≈ heart rate
- 130
That effort sits in the moderate band.
- 6No exertion at all
- 7Extremely light
- 9Very light
- 11Light
- 13Somewhat hard
- 15Hard (heavy)
- 17Very hard
- 19Extremely hard
- 20Maximal exertion
Two scales, one idea
| Borg 6–20 | Category-ratio 0–10 | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | Walking at your own pace, easy |
| 11 | 2 | Light — you could keep it up for an hour |
| 13 | 4 | Somewhat hard; talking in full sentences is possible |
| 15 | 6 | Hard; short sentences only |
| 17 | 8 | Very hard; a few words at a time |
| 19 | 10 | Extremely hard; you cannot hold it |
The talk test agrees with it
Moderate effort is where you can talk but not sing. Vigorous is where you cannot say more than a few words without a breath. If a patient’s RPE and their talk test disagree, trust the talk test and re-teach the scale.
Where RPE beats heart rate
Beta blockers flatten heart rate. So do rate-controlling drugs, pacemakers, deconditioning and anxiety. RPE keeps working through all of them because it measures the person rather than the pump. It also survives a patient forgetting their watch, which the pulse method does not.
Prescribing with it
Write the target into the home programme as a number, not an adjective: “walk 20 minutes at RPE 12–13” is followable, “walk briskly” is not. The home programme builder has a field for it beside the sets and reps.
Red flag — refer out
Chest pain, disproportionate breathlessness, dizziness or a resting heart rate that will not settle end the session. RPE is for grading effort, not for pushing through symptoms.
Sources
Keep reading
Home Exercise Program Builder
Build a printable home programme with sets, reps, holds and band tension.
Range of Motion Chart
Normal ROM by joint and plane, with the measured value scored against it.
Pain Scale
An interactive 0-10 numeric rating scale with the wording each anchor uses.
DASH Score Calculator
Score the 30-item DASH disability questionnaire and read the result.