The shortened Örebro Musculoskeletal Screening Questionnaire: evaluation in a work-injured population

The Örebro Musculoskeletal Screening Questionnaire (ÖMSQ) is a recently validated, 21-item instrument. It modified the original Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire (ÖMPainQ) providing broader focus and also improved development and practicality for identifying work-injured patients at-risk of persistent musculoskeletal problems. These instruments are critiqued for practicality and a shortened-version recommended. A 10-item ÖMPainQ was previously proposed for low-back-pain; however, general musculoskeletal populations require a broader validated instrument. To provide this, a two-stage retrospective study was performed. Stage 1 used three phases to: determined a minimum 12-item tool was required to ensure internal consistency (α > 0.70); subsequently developed two shortened ÖMSQ-12 versions from qualitative content-retention and quantitative factor analysis reductive methodologies; then calibrated both versions in a spine-cohort. Stage 2 validated and compared both versions' clinimetric properties in a general musculoskeletal-cohort to ascertain which was most appropriate. The ÖMPainQ-10 and a randomly-created ÖMPainQ-10 were compared post-hoc for criterion validity and factor structure. A physical therapy outpatients convenience sample (n = 279) was divided into developmental (spine = 136) and calibration (musculoskeletal = 143) cohorts. Primary outcomes were functional status, insurer-reported absenteeism and costs at six months. The qualitative-ÖMSQ-12 demonstrated preferred properties with higher 21-item-ÖMSQ correlation (r = 0.97; quantitative-ÖMSQ-12: r = 0.94; ÖMPainQ-10: r = 0.92; ÖMPainQ-10-random: r = 0.94) and improved predictive ability cut-offs for high-risk (72 ÖMSQ-12 points, 60%) and low-risk (57 ÖMSQ-12 points, 48%). The ÖMSQ-12 content-retention version is recommended. It demonstrated suitable internal consistency, a three-factor structure and high correlation with recovery time (r = 0.73). The ÖMSQ-12 will facilitate early identification and management of at-risk individuals and enable targeted intervention strategies through psychosocial informed management principles.