- The Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI) is a simple and effective self-report questionnaire for quickly measuring the functional cost of shoulder pain in wheelchair users.
- The WUSPI targets activity limitation resulting from shoulder pain (4 subsections), including wheelchair transfers, wheelchair mobility, selfcare and general activities. However, it does not obtain information about the type or frequency of pain experienced during the activities.
ICF Domain
Body Function ▶ Sensory Functions
Number of Items
15 items
Equipment
None
Scoring
- You will need approximately 5 minutes to complete the WUSPI.
- Each item is scored 0-10 on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS).
- Total score (0-150) is the sum of all item scores.
- Higher scores indicate greater interference due to shoulder pain.
- No strategies are suggested to assist with scoring if a person indicates they do not do certain activities (e.g./ load their chair into a car).
Languages
English
Training Required
None
Availability
Can be found by contacting the author (Dr. Kathleen Curtis, kacurtis@utep.edu).
# of studies reporting psychometric properties: 4
Interpretability
MCID: not established in SCI
SEM: 1.84
MDC: 5.10
(Curtis et al. 1995b)
Reliability
- High Test-retest Reliability:
ICC = 0.99
(Curtis et al. 1995b)
- High Internal Consistency:
α = 0.97
(Curtis et al. 1995a)
Validity
- Low correlation with Klein-Bell ADL Scale:
Correlation = 0.10
(Samuelsson et al. 2004)
- High Convergent Validity with Numerical Rating Scale 101 (for Pain):
Correlation = 0.723
(Salisbury et al. 2006)
Responsiveness
No values were reported for the responsiveness in the WUSPI for the SCI population.
Floor/ceiling effect
No values were reported for the presence of floor/ceiling effects in the WUSPI for the SCI population.
Reviewers
Dr. Bill Miller, Matthew Querée, Kyle Diab, John Zhu
Date Last Updated
3 August 2020
Curtis KA, Roach KE, Applegate EB, Amar T, Benbow CS, Genecco TD, Gualano J. Development of the Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI). Paraplegia 1995;33:290-293.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7630657
Curtis KA, Roach KE, Applegate EB, Amar T, Benbow CS, Genecco TD, Gualano J. Reliability and validity of the Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI). Paraplegia 1995;33:595-601.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8848314
Samuelsson KAM, Tropp H, Gerdle B. Shoulder pain and its consequences in paraplegic spinal cord-injured wheelchair users. Spinal Cord 2004; 42:41–46.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713943
