1 Before you use it
What it is
The 6–20 exertion scale, and the most practically useful item on this list for prescribing exercise.
The odd range is deliberate — it was built to approximate heart rate in a young adult by multiplying by ten.
When to reach for it
Any exercise prescription — aerobic work in osteoarthritis, loading progressions, return-to-running programmes.
Teach it once at the first session and it works for the whole episode.
Patterns it serves · 134
2 Giving it
Scoring
The patient reports a number from 6 (no exertion at all) to 20 (maximal exertion). Anchor it verbally at 6, 13 (somewhat hard) and 20 before you use it.
What it doesn’t measure
Pain. Exertion and pain are different scales and patients conflate them constantly — ask for both separately.
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Around 12–14 is commonly used for moderate intensity and 15–17 for vigorous. No verified thresholds are carried in our library and none are printed here.
It lets a patient self-regulate intensity without a heart-rate monitor, which is the entire reason it belongs in a physiotherapy toolkit.
Is the change real?
Student trap. Not anchoring the scale before use. "Rate it 6 to 20" means nothing to a patient who hasn't been told what 13 feels like.
Official source: cdc.gov. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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