Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have become integral to musculoskeletal rehabilitation, enabling clinicians to capture the patient’s perspective on pain, function and quality of life. Unlike clinician‐administered assessments, PROMs reflect individual priorities and daily activities, supporting personalised goal setting and shared decision-making. Measures range from generic health scales to fixed‐item instruments for specific body regions, as well as patient‐specific tools that allow individuals to nominate their own problematic activities. Their adoption has been driven by the shift towards a biopsychosocial model, greater emphasis on value-based care and the need to demonstrate treatment effectiveness both in research and routine practice. Advances in digital platforms and telehealth have broadened accessibility, permitting remote collection and real-time monitoring. Challenges persist, however, in selecting measures with strong psychometric properties, interpreting minimal clinically important change, integrating PROMs seamlessly into clinical workflows and ensuring cross-cultural validity. Harmonising standardisation with individualisation remains a priority, as does educating clinicians on appropriate use and interpretation. PROMs now underpin audit, benchmarking and quality-improvement initiatives worldwide, emphasising their role in guiding resource allocation and enhancing patient-centred care in musculoskeletal services.

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Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in patient-reported outcome measures in musculoskeletal rehabilitation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Patient-reported outcome measure (PROM): A questionnaire completed by the patient to assess health status, function or quality of life. Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS): A PROM in which individuals identify and rate their own activity limitations. Responsiveness: The ability of a measure to detect clinically meaningful change over time. Minimal clinically important difference (MCID): The smallest change in score perceived by patients as beneficial. Psychometric properties: Characteristics of a measure, including validity, reliability and responsiveness, which determine its quality.

References

1. Responsiveness of the P4, Patient Specific Functional Scale 2.0, Satisfaction and Recovery Index, and SF-12 in Patients With Musculoskeletal Disorders. Cureus (2024).
2. Explaining Personalized Activity Limitations in Patients With Hand and Wrist Disorders: Insights from Sociodemographic, Clinical, and Mindset Characteristics. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2023).
3. Categories of the Patient‐Specific Functional Scale Activities in Chronic Neck Pain and Their Relationship to the Neck Disability Index. Rehabilitation Research and Practice (2024).