Although VAS scales are mostly

used in studies of self-reports on pain, already in 1977 they were used in a study about the functional capacity in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Scott and Huskisson 1977). Also in other studies VAS scales were used, such as, in assessing functional disability and ability to perform physical activities (Durüoz 1996; Knop et al. 2001; Kwa et al. 1996; Post et al. 2006). Furthermore, VAS scales were used in studies on quality of life and functional scores (Krief and Huguet 2005; Matheson et al. 2006). We also performed a pilot study in which we studied the feasibility of the VAS to assess the judgment of IPs in disability claims. According to the participating AZD6738 order IPs, the VAS was a feasible method of assessing selleck screening library the level of physical work ability in claimants with MSDs. The following 12 activities were rated on a VAS: walking, sitting, standing, lifting or carrying, dynamic movements of the trunk, static bending of the trunk, reaching, movements above shoulder height, kneeling

or crouching and 3 activities related to hand and finger movements (repetitive hand movements, specific hand movements and pinch or grip strength). These activities were selected from several questionnaires as being valid and useful for assessment of the physical work ability of subjects with MSDs. Questionnaires were taken only for the selection of activities and not tests, because no physical tests were found to have the same clinimetric quality (Wind et al. 2005). All the selected activities are part of the FCE test, and the test results are described in the FCE report. The selected activities are also part of the functional ability list (FAL), which is the instrument currently used routinely by IPs to classify physical work ability in the context of disability claims. The VAS score ranged from 0 to 10 and was represented by a horizontal line, length of 10 cm. The lower limit (0) was defined as complete lack of physical work ability for the activity in question compared

to the situation before the claimant became disabled. The upper limit (10) was defined Tyrosine-protein kinase BLK as no loss of physical work ability for that activity compared to the situation before onset of disability. The main outcome measure is a shift of more than 1.2 cm in the VAS score for work ability as determined for one of the 12 physical activities between the first and second assessment carried out by each IP. A change of more than 1.2 cm between the two VAS scores for a given claimant was regarded as representing an intentional change in the IP’s judgment of the physical work ability. This assumption was based on the outcome of the previous mentioned unpublished feasibility study. In that study, 6 IPs assessed the physical work ability of claimants with MSDs in the context of disability claims and re-assessed the physical work ability after 2 weeks, based on the information in the claimants file.