Evaluation of health-related quality of life in patients with shoulder pain: are we doing the best we can?

This article provides an understanding of patient-based shoulder outcome tools and the conceptual framework of disablement models from which the patient-based outcome tools are based. To allow for the evaluation of function, disability, and health-related quality of life in patients suffering from shoulder pain and in particular those whose shoulders have high physical demands, the use of shoulder self-report patient-oriented outcome tools must become standard of practice. A wide variety of available outcome tools demonstrate acceptable levels of measurement properties and are appropriate for virtually every patient with a shoulder disorder.