Normal shoulder outcome score values in the young, active adult

• Published in: Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 424 - 428
• Main Authors: Clarke, Michael G., LCDR, Dewing, Christopher B., LCDR, Schroder, David T., LCDR, Solomon, Daniel J., CDR, Provencher, Matthew T., LCDR
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.05.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; ASES Score; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Confidence Intervals; DASH score; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Female; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Joint Instability - diagnosis; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Orthopedics; Orthopedics - methods; Probability; Range of Motion, Articular - physiology; Reference Values; Shoulder Joint - physiology; Shoulder outcome scores; Simple Shoulder Test; Statistics, Nonparametric; Surveys and Questionnaires; Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index; Young Adult; ASES Score; DASH score; Simple Shoulder Test; Shoulder outcome scores; Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index; Human; Prognosis; Shoulder; Young adult; Rheumatology
• ISSN: 1058-2746; 1532-6500
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2008.10.009

Background Our objective was to determine baseline, normative values for multiple shoulder outcome scores in a young, active population without shoulder symptoms. Methods One hundred ninety-two volunteers completed the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, modified American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Western Ontario Shoulder Instability index, Simple Shoulder Test, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score. Their mean age was 28.8 years (range, 17-50 years). Results Of the participants, 59 (31%) scored no deficiencies on any of the outcome instruments, whereas 133 (69%) demonstrated some abnormal shoulder score. The mean scores were as follows: Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, 97.7 (SD, 5.2); modified American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, 98.9 (SD, 3.3); Western Ontario Shoulder Instability index, 82.7 of 2100 (SD, 153.5); Simple Shoulder Test, 11.79 (SD, 0.60); and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score, 1.85 (SD, 5.99). Conclusion Our results show that the best possible shoulder score in an asymptomatic population may not be equivalent to a perfect score on the outcome scale.