Responsiveness of the VAS and McGill pain questionnaire in measuring changes in musculoskeletal pain

Abstract

Pain, caused by injury, is one of the main reasons patients seek the guidance of health care providers. However, because pain is subjective, it may be difficult to accurately measure the pain level a patient is experiencing and observe changes over time. Pain may have negative consequences for active individuals such as athletes, including decreased functionality and loss of participation time. Therefore, it is important to determine and document pain status on a frequent basis to help reduce these outcomes. Although there are several pain scales available to clinicians, the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) are frequently used. Currently, it is unknown which outcome measurement for monitoring pain is optimal in the care of active patients. Understanding active patients' pain levels may help sports rehabilitation clinicians in acute injury management and in determining the appropriate progression of rehabilitation.