Development and validation of the elbow demand rating scale.
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.


OBJECTIVE
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.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the EDS demonstrated moderate to strong psychometric properties in a patient population with elbow injuries, and its use is supported for young athletes.


CONCLUSIONS
The EDS provides clinicians working with adolescent and young adult athletes a scale to direct care and determine intervention success or failure.
Elite Sports Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington, Connecticut ; Department of Orthopaedics, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
Carl W
CW
Nissen
Elite Sports Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
Emily A
EA
O'Hara
Elite Sports Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
Mark
M
McCarthy
Elite Sports Medicine, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
Regina
R
Kostyun
elbow; elbow assessment; injury; joint assessment