Patient’s psychology has been reported to represent an important factor in the persistence of symptoms in patients with patellofemoral pain.1,2 Incorporating measures of psychological health into the initial assessment in those with patellofemoral pain can offer useful insight into levels of anxiety, fear of movement, or depression associated with their pain presentation.
In this section, you will find tools that you can use to assess the psychological features of a patient with patellofemoral pain.
The TAMPA Scale for Kinesiophobia is a 17-item questionnaire to quantify fear of movement and re-injury due to movement and physical activity.3,4
The total score varies on a scale of 17 to 68, with higher scores indicating greater levels of kinesiophobia.
Click on the figure to have access to the questionnaire.
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The Pain Catastrophising Scale is a 13-item questionnaire that describes thoughts and feelings that individuals experience when they have pain.5,6
The scale ranges from 0 to 52, where 52 represents greater catastrophic pain.
Click on the figure to have access to the questionnaire.
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The Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire (ÖMPQ) is a ‘yellow flag’ screening tool that predicts long-term disability and failure to return to work when completed four to 12 weeks following a musculoskeletal injury.7
Identification, through the ÖMPQ, of workers at risk of failing to return to work due to personal and environmental factors provides the opportunity for treating practitioners to apply appropriate interventions (including the use of activity programs based on cognitive-behavioral strategies) to reduce the risk of long-term disability in injured workers.7
Click on the figure to have access to the questionnaire.
Watch the video below with Dr. Danilo de Oliveira Silva, answering the most common questions about this topic:
Listen a BJSM podcast by Bill Vicenzino and Liam McLachlan discussing about the importance of assessing psychological features of patients with patellofemoral pain.
Now that you have reviewed everything about psychological factors in patellofemoral pain, test your knowledge by taking the quiz below.