Abstract
Background:
Overhead sports place the greatest strain on the elbow of any of the upper extremity joints. Unfortunately, athlete-specific functional outcome tools do not exist for the elbow.
Hypotheses:
The Elbow Demand Rating Scale (EDS) will demonstrate strong reliability and validity properties: (1) test-retest reliability with a 2-week EDS administration, (2) internal reliability of the subscales, and (3) construct validity through lower scores for patients with elbow injuries.
Study Design:
Prospective case-control study.
Methods:
Patients with (n = 19) and without elbow injuries (n = 19) completed the EDS during their routine clinical appointment and 2 weeks later. Clinicians completed the functional portion of the EDS.
Results:
The EDS demonstrated strong test-retest reliability and construct validity. Internal reliability was moderate (α = 0.50). Exploratory analyses further supported construct validity using demographic survey questions regarding elbow pain and symptoms.
Conclusion:
Overall, the EDS demonstrated moderate to strong psychometric properties in a patient population with elbow injuries, and its use is supported for young athletes.
Clinical Relevance:
The EDS provides clinicians working with adolescent and young adult athletes a scale to direct care and determine intervention success or failure.
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