Clinician's Commentary on Oliveira et al.

Activities that are performed with the upper limbs (ULs), especially unsupported activities such as brushing teeth, combing hair, and putting groceries on a shelf, lead to increased metabolic demand in healthy individuals.2 Couser and colleagues2 demonstrated in their study that simple arm elevation in healthy individuals may cause an increase in ventilatory and metabolic demand similar to that in mild-intensity exercise, with an increase in oxygen consumption and heart rate of as much as 16%. In addition to this increased metabolic demand for a simple activity, people with different chronic diseases such as stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have, for different reasons, difficulty performing activities with their ULs. Despite this knowledge, the test options for assessing UL function and endurance in populations with or without disability are few. Moreover, information on the psychometric properties of the available tests is limited. Oliveira and colleagues1 conducted a study in healthy individuals to examine the within-day test–retest reliability of an UL test, the Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test (UULEX), that was originally designed for people with COPD. The UULEX measures peak UL exercise capacity, but it could also be considered an endurance test3 because its outcome is the maximum time that the individual performs the task. The authors included 100 healthy individuals of both genders who, for the purpose of the analysis, were divided into two groups, those aged 18–50 years and those aged 50 years or older. This study adds to the knowledge about the psychometric properties of a fairly unknown test that can be useful for professionals working on UL training with people with or without disability