Validation and reliability of the Munich Shoulder Questionnaire for Turkish patients with shoulder dysfunction

Introduction. Shoulder dysfunction is one of the most important upper extremity problems that limit the quality of life of individuals. Munich Shoulder Questionnaire (MSQ) is a self-assessment tool that allows an easy follow-up and evaluation for clinicians. The aim of this study was to describe the process applied to translate MSQ into Turkish and to test its validity and reliability. Methods. The questionnaire involves socio-demographic data, as well as objective and subjective items for shoulder dysfunction. The study investigated 180 patients with shoulder dysfunction. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess internal consistency. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by the intra-class correlation coefficient. Pearson’s correlation coefficient served to examine the convergent validity. The SPSS 23.0 software was used for the statistical analysis. Results. The patients’ average age equalled 44.3 ± 11.6 years. in most cases (76.7%), the diagnosis was shoulder impingement syndrome. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the MSQ objective and subjective sections were 0.73 and 0.96, respectively. The MSQ total score was positively correlated with the disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire total score (r = 0.70; p < 0.01) and the Shoulder Pain and disability index total score (r = 0.65; p < 0.01). Conclusions. The Turkish version of MSQ is a valid, reliable, and responsive instrument for evaluating shoulder dysfunctions. in addition, MSQ-Turkish is satisfactory for evaluating shoulder dysfunctions and its use is recommended to follow up conservative, manipulative, and surgical treatments.