RQ resting metabolic test · Back pain · St. Louis
RQ metabolic test for back pain: how your body burns fuel at rest
RQ testing measures, through your breath, which fuel your body uses at rest. You sit still and breathe normally into a mask or mouthpiece. When the reading is done, we know your calorie burn at rest, and we can tell if your body relies more on sugar or more on fat.
A physician at Back Pain STL decides whether you need this test and orders it. You only have it if it is ordered for you.
What is it?
You sit in a quiet room and breathe at your normal pace for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Why does it matter for back pain?
High insulin and high blood sugar stiffen the collagen in discs and joints and keep inflammation running. A body that can only burn sugar is usually a body with insulin that runs high.
Your RQ result helps set the eating plan in your diet and metabolic health coaching, so the advice fits how your own body works.
What does it feel like?
Calm, normal breathing. Nothing goes through the skin.
How do you get ready?
Skip food, exercise, caffeine and nicotine for roughly 4 hours ahead of the test.
What should you tell us first?
- Let us know if a mouthpiece makes breathing hard for you
More on this site: weight and lower back pain, metabolic health and back pain.
Other tests in the program
This page is part of our physiotherapy program for back pain, where a physician orders, supervises and re-checks every step.
Find out what your back actually needs
Your first visit is a physician exam, not a sales pitch for a machine. You leave knowing what is driving your pain and which parts of the program fit it.
12174 Natural Bridge Rd, Suite 301
St. Louis, MO 63044
At DePaul Hospital on Natural Bridge Road, inside the I-270 and I-70 interchange, on the west side of the airport.