Validity of Visual Analog Scales for Assessing Psychological States in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain

Abstract

Objectives: Examination of visual analog scale’s [VAS] validity for assessing psychological states in patients with chronic neck pain.

Methods: Forty-five patients with chronic neck pain completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, and Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Anxiety, depression, kinesiophobia, and catastrophizing were additionally assessed by using a VAS for each.

Results: Only the anxiety VAS could correlate high enough with its corresponding questionnaire. This correlation was higher than any other of its correlations with the other psychological instruments.

Conclusions: The VAS seems to be a valid scale for assessing anxiety in patients with chronic neck pain.

• Anxiety
• catastrophizing
• depression
• kinesiophobia
• neck pain
• visual analog scale