Testience of Ruffer — Wikipedia

Ruffier’s test is often used in general medicine and sports medicine to quickly assess a patient’s general physical condition.

The Ruffier test or Ruffier-Dickson test is a physical test that allows you to assess the ability of a person in sports. This test may, for example, be carried out under the control of a doctor in order to obtain a medical certificate of non-contraindication to a sports practice.

The cardiac index of the French doctor James-Edward Ruffier (1875-1965) is presented by Dickson in a 1950 article as a means of medico-sporting control ^{[ first ]} .

The test takes place in three steps ^{[ 2 ]} :

1. After a rest (lying) of a few minutes, a pulse intake of the subject gives the value
   ${displaystyle p0}$

   (in pulsations per minute);

2. The subject must then get up and perform 30 complete flexions of legs in 45 seconds, arms stretched in front of him. Following the 45 seconds of effort, the pulse
   ${displaystyle p1}$

   is taken immediately;

3. Then the subject lengthens again, and exactly a minute after the end of the flexions, we note its heart rate one last time:
   ${displaystyle p2}$

   .

By convenience we commonly use the Ruffier index ^{[ 2 ]} who is

.

The lower the index, the better adaptation to effort.

The following grid allows you to interpret the test result:

• Index = 0: Very good adaptation to effort;
• Index between 0 and 5: Good adaptation to effort;
• Index between 5 and 10: adaptation to average effort;
• index between 10 and 15: adaptation to insufficient effort;
• Index greater than 15: poor adaptation to effort, an additional medical assessment is necessary.

Trained athletes often have a near or less than 0 ruffian index.
Sedentary persons generally have an index greater than 5. It is however possible to bring this value down by following regular sports training.

L’ Ruffier-Dickson index ^{[ 2 ]} is evaluated thanks to a calculation different from that of the Ruffier test:

.

Again a lower index is better:

• index = 0 = excellent;
• 0 to 2 = very good;
• 2 to 4 = good;
• 4 to 6 = means;
• 6 to 8 = weak;
• 8 to 10 = very low;
• Index> 10 = poor adaptation to effort.

A difference

Low means that the subject quickly recovered after effort, and (almost) found the initial heart rate. A value of

Low means that effort has not caused a significant heart rate.

Ruffier or Ruffier-Dickson tests are frequently used by high-level athletes to follow their level of shape and assess their recovery throughout the season.

According to Michel Delore, octuple winner of the Saintélyon, sports journalist and author of multiple works devoted to running, the Ruffier-Dickson test is obsolete and does not replace an effort test ^{[ 3 ]} .

• Dickson, J. (1950). “Use of Ruffier’s heart index in medico-sporting control”, With. EDUC. Phys. Sport , 2, 65.
• Levavasseur, G. (2000). “Interest, role and limits of the Ruffier Dickson test from the study of 173 athletes” (doctoral thesis).