Shoulder Outcomes Measures

General health as well as disease- or condition-specific outcome measures have long been used to assess patients with shoulder conditions. Currently, a variety of validated measures is available. Shoulder outcomes measures may be general (eg, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons; Constant; Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand), disease-specific (eg, Rotator Cuff Quality of Life, Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index), or condition-specific (eg, Oxford Shoulder Instability Questionnaire). The results of shoulder arthroplasty and arthritis treatment can be assessed with the Hospital for Special Surgery score and the validated Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder Index. Combining a general health outcome measure, a general shoulder measure, a disease- or condition-specific shoulder measure, and an activity measure allows for broad patient assessment.