- 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, self-care 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
