Cardio testing at OrthoTrain:
We have our patients do the IPN cardio test on bicycle ergometers to determine their cardiovascular fitness. The test assesses fitness on a scale of 1 to 5 and establishes individual training heart rates for base endurance training.
Ergometer-based cardio test
Cardiovascular fitness is often sharply reduced in cases of chronic pain (e.g., back pain) and after injuries and operations, which are often associated with general physical inactivity und limited weight-bearing. As a result of reduced base endurance, patients generally fatigue quickly and take long to recuperate.
OrthoTrain’s treatment concept, therefore, includes as two key elements an assessment of cardiovascular fitness and rehabilitative improvement of base endurance in the appropriate intensity range in accordance with the test results.
IPN Test –
determine your fitness level and ideal training heart rate
At OrthoTrain we use the IPN Test (IPN = Institut für Prävention und Nachsorge, Cologne), developed at the German Sport University Cologne, to determine cardiovascular fitness.
The patient undergoes a pulse-controlled, tiered load test on a bicycle ergometer during which intensity is steadily increased every two or three minutes. For each patient, a target heart rate is established on the basis of age, sex, physical-activity level and resting heart rate. Once the target heart rate has been attained, the test is discontinued and the results are analyzed.
The IPN test is a sub-maximal test procedure, which means that the patient does not make an all-out effort. This is particularly important in the context of rehabilitation training, where most patients cannot yet fully exert themselves.
The results assess cardio performance in terms of five fitness levels that range from „significantly below average“ (Level 1) to „significantly above average“ (Level 5). The results are applied directly to cardio training: the IPN test calculates optimum training heart rates to ensure that training intensity remains within the appropriate range. After the test, subjects are told what heart-rate values are ideal for their specific endurance-training programs.