Individuals with haemophilia have an increased risk of bleeds during activities of daily living. This risk is potentially increased in these individuals during exercise. However, there are limited studies surrounding if individuals with haemophilia have a reduced tolerance to exercise. A maximal treadmill and cycle exercise test is the gold standard for measuring how fit an individual is. These tests can show how fit an individual is by measuring how much oxygen they use during exercise. However, due to the lack of studies in the area, it is unknown whether individuals with haemophilia can undergo a maximal treadmill or cycling exercise test without any bleeding events. There are a number of submaximal exercise tests which also examine an individual’s fitness level Submaximal tests put less strain on an individual and therefore, it may be less likely to cause a bleed in individuals with haemophilia. One test is called the YMCA cycling test.. However, like many submaximal tests, it has not been well validated. The aim of this study is to examine if the YMCA cycling test is comparable to the gold standard tests (maximal treadmill and cycling test). This will be carried out on healthy individuals who will be of low risk of developing any adverse events. In doing so, this study will hopefully elucidate if the YMCA protocol can be used to accurately examine fitness levels in individuals with haemophilia.
